Buba Marwa says there’s Urgent Need To Rid Nigeria Of Drug Scourge

Chairman/Chief Execu­tive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agen­cy (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), has called on all lead­ers and stakeholders across the country to see the urgent need to rid nationa of drug scourge.

Marwa, who spoke in Ibadan, Oyo State on Satur­day, as chairman at the pub­lic presentation of a book, ‘Victory in defeat’, written by Brig. Gen. Larinde Laoye (rtd), said leaders at all lev­els “must attach some ur­gency to the need to rid our society of the drug menace.

“That is why we are ad­vocating a new social order where drug test becomes the norm, for couples as part of the wedding rites, for students as a continu­ous process starting from admission into tertiary in­stitutions and for govern­ment employees as part of the employment process and periodic validation of their employment.”

On why it has become ex­pedient to awaken the con­sciousness of all Nigerians to the urgent need for them to support the NDLEA in its effort to save the country from the menace of abuse and trafficking of illicit substances, Marwa said it was to safeguard Nigeria’s future.

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According to him, “It is our wish that our younger generation should follow the illustrious path of Gen Laoye. But, I want us all to be aware that the drug situ­ation prevalent in our soci­ety today will make such an achievement difficult for a lot of young people.

“Our record at the ND­LEA in the first five months of this year, calls for sober re­flection: Over 5, 000 arrests; over 3, 000 charged to court with more than 500 convic­tions; 2772 individuals were counselled and treated for drug-related problems.

“More than two million kilograms of assorted drugs were seized and over N90 billion worth of drugs and cash recovered. These sta­tistics are alarming and are red flags about the need to safeguard the future of the young generation.”

While reminding the gathering of the need for Nigerians to unite on all fronts, he said, “We came from all the corners of this vast country of ours, north, east and west, united in a common purpose to honour our brother and felicitate with an illustrious citizen.