ASABA/Nigeria: Worried over the prevalence of drug and substance abuse among young people, the Delta State Government, through the Office of the Secretary to the Delta State Government, had recently organized a stakeholders’ workshop to discuss remedies and ensure a healthier society.
The workshop organized in collaboration with Advocacy and Sensitization subcommittee of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse was graced by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Police, National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the National Agency for Food, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC),
Others include the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ministries of Education and Women Affairs and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria, Delta State Traditional Rulers Council, Civil Society Organizations, the academia, secondary school students, Local Government Chairmen and the Muslim community as well as other concerned stakeholders.
Representing the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari, Mr. Lawal Moshood, said that the past year prevalence of drug abuse in Nigeria was estimated at 14.4 percent, representing 14.3 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 as compared to the global prevalence of 5.6 percent among the adult population, adding that current assessment indicated that addiction to illicit drugs pervades ethnicity, social groups and gender.
In their separate remarks, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Rev Omatsola Williams and the Permanent Secretary, Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Samuel Dietake, cautioned parents and guardians to rise to their responsibilities adding that the campaign against drug abuse should be further spread by firsthand participants of the symposium.
Similarly, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Ngozi Onadeka represented by DSP (Pharm) Edorge Oyintombra, warned law enforcement officers not to become dangers to the society with the consumption of illegal drugs, even as the Secretary, NBA Asaba branch, Dr Richards Newman charged law enforcement agencies not to compromise in their duties of ensuring a safer and healthier society.
Earlier his remarks, Chairman of Delta State Traditional Rulers Council, HRM Emmanuel Efezomor commended the state government for leading the initiative with the establishment of the state drug control committee, stressing that a dearth in value system has necessitated such social vices as the abuse of drugs and other toxic substances among the youths, even as he advocated for a viable rehabilitation mechanism so that victims do not relapse again after cure.
In the same vein, Chairman, Delta State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Apostle Sylvanus Okorote and his Muslim counterpart, Alhaji Yinusa Adekola regretted that drug abusers are always not present at such forums, even as they attempted the religious, health and social implication of drug abuse.
