By Philip Yatai

Mr Luka Nizassan, Etsu of Kwali, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says Nigeria’s future is at stake following the high rate of drug abuse among the youths.

Nizassan expressed the concern in Abuja on Tuesday, at a one-day Rise Above Conference, with the theme, “United for a Drug-free Life.”

The conference was organised by Al Masaareef Foundation, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), targeting more than 500 secondary school students.

He pointed out that Nigeria was losing potential future leaders who were addicted to drug and substance abuse.

He said that the prevalence of drug and substance abuse was alarming, not only among the youths, but even adults, particularly parents.

“Unfortunately, even some of the mentors and educators ate into drugs and it has become conventional that nobody sees anything wrong with it.

“The songs that we listen to today are promoting drugs.

“Drug abuse is prevalent everywhere, in the market, it’s in mosques, it’s in churches, in villages and in the government; it is everywhere.

“Until we decide to be concerted in our efforts towards dealing with drug related issues, our nation will not have the leaders that will take over this country tomorrow,” he said.

He said that the key stimulant to insecurity in the country was drug abuse, adding that a lot of persons were making money out of it, “yet, it is destroying the fabrics of this nation.”

The royal father advised students to be among persons that would rise above drug abuse, responsible for 40 per cent of Nigeria’s problems, particularly insecurity.

Nizassan said that insecurity had continued to stall development in the country because the problem of drug abuse, its key stimulant, had not been addressed.

According to him, stakeholders must stop paying lip service to drug abuse and be deliberate about addressing the menace.

“First, we need to crack down all the channels where these drugs are made available.

“As stakeholders, we need to wake up to our responsibilities and tackle the challenge, from where the drugs are produced to where the end users are.

“We all have roles to play at various stages of the supply chain, and when we wake up to our roles, we will be able to address the issue of drugs squarely.

“Until stakeholders wake up to their responsibilities, Nigeria will not be able to address the problem of drug abuse that is already affecting the future of children in the country.”

At community level, the royal father said that community leaders have a role to play in changing the narrative through concerted advocacies against drug abuse.

“We will continue to speak to our people, speak to our women, to our children, and our religious leaders,” he said.

Earlier, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Al Masaareef Foundation, Dr Hauwa Wambai, said that the 500 secondary school students were being mobilised to fight drug abuse among youth in the FCT.

Wambai explained that each of the 500 students, drawn from 62 wards across the six area councils of the FCT, would be expected to train five persons.

She added that each of the five persons would also train at least one person, adding that the strategy was expected to reach at least 2,500 youths with key messages against drug abuse. (NAN)

Edited by Maureen Atuonwu