By Nkasi Okolie-Oji
Stakeholders in security have blamed the incessant killings,armed robberies,rapes and other criminal activities on drug abuse .
The stakeholders,who gathered at the Police Officer’s Mess, GRA, Ikeja , Lagos , want the government, through the National Orientation Agency, religious organisations , families and school authorities to carry out serious enlightenment campaign against drug abuse .
They want the war against drug abuse to be taken directly to our children who are the future leaders or they would fail the country .
The stakeholders , comprising of officers of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Journalists , the Nigeria Police Force, and the Ministry of Education ,who spoke to students of various schools in Lagos during the commemoration of the International Day Against Drug and Illicit Trafficking organised by the Crime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria(CRAN), blamed crimes ,especially : killings, by evil people or organisations on drug abuse .
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fayoade Adegoke, warned the pupils and students not to start the use of drugs as the adverse effects would be too catastrophic and irredeemable:” I will appreciate if you don’t start it at all, don’t taste drugs because the end result is catastrophic and irredeemable. Many people have tasted it once and couldn’t come out of it. They become addicted and remain in drugs till they become problems to themselves, families and the society at large . Some tried it once and had heart or kidney failure. Others tried it and ended tragically in any form of accident. Some tried it once and ended up killing their parents, siblings , girlfriend , boyfriends or any other person for no reasons. When their eyes are cleared, they will start regretting their actions.
” I am not telling you fictions, but true life stories,because we have them in our cells. We have them in our custody and when we asked them why they killed their parents or anyone, they would tell you that they didn’t know what happened or what transpired. They would confess that it was after taking drugs, they couldn’t comprehend what happened and how ot happened. One of them who killed his father told us that it was after his father killed him that he decided to kill him. You can imagine the havoc drugs are causing in the society”.
The CP, who was represented by the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundyin, warned on the consequences of drug abuse, saying,” drugs and crimes go hand in hand. There is no killing that happen without the suspect taking drugs. The terrorists you hear that kill people everyday take drugs to enable them perform their nefarious activities,so also the armed robbers and cultists . They operate under the influence of alcohol and drugs. There is no reasonable person who will kill his or her fellow human being without the influence of drugs. That is why we are advising our students not to do drugs. Drugs do no good to you,but destroy you. I can see the beautiful and handsome faces with brighter futures, but drugs can waste the future if you take it. It will not be your potion.
” The consequences of drugs are enormous, outside from the fact that drugs can make a student useless, drugs also have legal punishments. While your mates have graduated from the university, parents will be carrying drug addicts up and down from one psychiatric hospital to another. If you are lucky,your parents may be wealthy enough to take you to rehabilitation centre,but it is too expensive and can wreck a family. Second, remember that there is outright death if you are not lucky. Third, I told you of the legal implications; when you are caught, you will end up in jail. Don’t think that because you are a minor and you will be released. We have juvenile Courts all over the country where you will be prosecuted and sentenced to jail if found guilty of drug abuse and cultosm.Alright, the judge or the magistrate may give you suspended jail term, because you are a first time offender, but you are still a convict.There is what we call police character certificate, incase you are traveling abroad for studies or anything,you will be required to get the certificate,but be rest assured that we have your dossier in our central unit, you will be denied of visa because of the report in our system.
” I am talking to you with my wealth of experience as I have personally interrogated suspects and found out that they started taking drugs because of peers pressure. Don’t yield to peers pressure. When we were in schools, especially in the universities , people like me were seen as fools by some of our students,who saw themselves as big guys; today majority of them who joined cult groups and were doing drugs are now totally useless. These were brilliant and promising children with great future ahead of them, but today, some of them come to people like me to beg for money. We that they saw as fools are now wise people, while they have become foolish and useless. I have told you that drugs and crimes go hands in hands. Go back to your schools and homes and take the message on the danger of drugs to your colleagues and siblings. If you want to be useless on life,don’t take my advice,but it you want to be useful and fulfil that ambition of becoming a pilot, medical practitioner, lawyer , Nurse ,police officer or Journalist,run away from drugs.
On his own, speaking on the theme of the day’s activity,”The Evidence is Clear, Invest in Prevention, Commander Mallum Musa in charge of media and advocacy, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Lagos Command, urged the children to stay a way from drugs, and be good ambassadors and not to allow peers pressure to change them.
He said, Illicit drugs are the fuel to perpetrate crimes, adding that it would destroy their ambition.
According to him, no one would be spared as anyone arrested would be prosecuted and sent to jail, adding that the Ministry of Education should take the issue of drugs seriously by carrying out massive campaigns against the use of illicit drugs.
He warned parents to look into the affairs of their children and watch them closely to know the type of friends that they Keep.
He warned that with the ways people, especially the young ones are doing drugs, the country is sitting on a keg of gunpowder ready to explode, ” as agency fighting drugs, we are doing our best carrying our sensitisation, rehabilitation of addict, and arresting and prosecuting suspects. Once we get to the judiciary, our hand are off”.
A repentant cultist and drug addict, Mr Daniel Osita, warned on the dangers fof drug abuse, saying that cultism is the root cause of drug abuse, the necessary transformation in the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking is a significant challenge for any nation serious about successfully eradicating drug abuse and trafficking among young adults.
” The police have done very well to mount outreach programme to sensitise young Nigerians to reject cultism, violence, drug abuse, and other vices and other forms of deviant behaviours which are harmful to them, their families and the nation. As a person, I know at firsthand that cultism, drugs or substance abuse and illicit trafficking are terrible things that do no good for any nation. I know as well that we should not limit our focus to fighting it; rather, we must mobilise all resources to crush it. In spite of being one of the most-richly-endowed nations in human and material resources, Nigeria has not attained greatness. One of the major causes of this is located in cultism that has also bred drugs and substance abusers.
“Most of the businesses in this country today is transacted on the basis of whom you know or which sect/cult/club/organization/religion you belong to or represent. Cultism is the main pillar of other deviant behaviours, as activities of cultists are found to be disruptive and damaging to human lives and career. Various acts of violent assaults, brigandage, examination malpractices, drug abuse, rape, kidnapping and murder have been traced to secret cults in many institutions of higher learning. Many of the reports associated with secret cults are not mere fairy tales but destructive realities. Even those that pass for our benign neglect are often bizarre and factual tragedies. The typical human response of course has mingled fear with sensation. Event of such enormous dimension affect the minds and lives not of those who actually witness them but also those who are involved. The worrisome manifestation of organised crime in our homes, on the streets, and most especially in tertiary institutions across the nation, is a clear signal that, if concrete actionable and sustainable steps are not taken now, the future is extremely bleak. We have reached a low point in our societal ethics, values and belief system. In contemporary times, many wonder why we are grappling with a younger generation that hardly sees anything good about the society, a generation that is saucy, arrogant and grossly averse to constituted authority, generation that will carry arms and ammunition against the state at the best choice among many alternatives, just to settle scores! This is propelled by CULTISM under the influence of drugs and chemical substance; today, very many of our teenagers and adolescents have been cut down in their prime, very many others are daily being initiated into the deadly squad of drug abusers.The question we all need answer to is: Is there hope?My answer is “YES, there is HOPE”.My suggestions to our leaders:All Nigerians must join hands to rescue the young generation by reporting any crime around us to police. All must be done to discourage those who are promoting drugs and chemical substance with their music, movies and their clubs.The police force should carry this campaign to all secondary and primary schools to help educate the young ones.Yours faithfullyDaniel Osita Collins CEO, Jesus Care Reformation Centre for Drug Abuse and Misuse.
In his welcome address, the President of CRAN, Mr. Lekan Olabulo advised the NDLEA and other security agencies to engage in public sensitization in schools and communities as a way of fighting the menace of drug abuse in Nigeria.
According to him, “as members of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria, we have taken it as our modest support and contribution to the society to fight crimes through our sensitization of students and other members of the public on drug abuse.”
