By Festus Ahon
The abuse of hard drugs and other prohibited substances and its association with crime, especially of the violent genre, has resulted in a considerable rise in the number of youths imprisoned in recent years.
This is according to a 2022 report by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in Nigeria, which indicates that 14.4% (14.3 million) of people aged between 15 and 64 years abuse drugs.
This figure, cascaded down to Delta State, indicates that the hard drug abuse prevalence rate among those of 15 and 64 years is 18%, with over half a million (500,000) of the population involved.
Troubled by this statistics, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Thursday, raised the alarm on the growing incidence of hard drug abuse in the country, saying it had become a global public health crisis that needed to be tackled head on and called on all stakeholders to work toward its prompt and effective eradication.
Oborevwori spoke when the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), and his delegation visited him in Asaba.
Oborevwori commended the NDLEA and other stakeholders for the fight against hard drug abuse but urged that the momentum must be sustained if the nation was to win the war against the growing illicit hard drugs business.
He assured the NDLEA of the State Government’s unwavering commitment and support in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drugs business.
The governor said: “I am very touched that you took time to come to Delta State over the incident that happened and also used the opportunity to meet your people here.
“Delta State is happy to receive you and we know that under your leadership, the NDLEA has recorded outstanding successes; busting drug cartels in the country. I commend you and your personnel for your resolve to rid the nation of illicit drugs, no matter who is involved.
“The momentum must be sustained, if we are to win the war against drug abuse. Drug abuse is both a global health and social problem. In Nigeria, it has become a public health menace.
“It needs urgent and proactive actions to be able to handle the trend and I assure you of our unwavering support and partnership in this fight.”
Oborevwori, however, said that despite the rise in drug abuse, a lot was being done on advocacy and rehabilitation at the designated centers, adding that in support of the efforts to attain the goals of the NDLEA, he had appointed a capable hand as Senior Special Assistant on Illicit Drugs.
He said the unfortunate incident in July, where an innocent child died and another was injured in the course of an NDLEA operation in the State, would not stop the State Government from supporting the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
“The incident that happened in July will not stop the State from going after those into illegal hard drugs. After the incident happened, the people, who fueled the attack on the NDLEA personnel, are those into drugs.
“NDLEA did not just go to that scene to raid; there was information which was very reliable. We went to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, to commiserate with the family and took care of the medical bills.
“We commend the NDLEA for sending a team for an investigation to ascertain what actually happened. I also instructed the Secretary to the State Government to give a letter to the family to get an American Visa for the treatment of the child abroad.”
Earlier, Marwa had appreciated Oborevwori for his commitment and support to the agency and commended him for his work in the State and wished him more successes in the future.
The NDLEA Chairman said he was in Delta to condole with the Fidelis family on the death of the two-year-old Eromonsele who accidentally lost his life during an operation in Asaba, and to also speak with stakeholders playing important roles in the fight against drug trafficking in the country.
He said the agency was working towards processing and fast-tracking travel arrangements to sponsor the surviving brother’s eye treatment in America, adding that winning the war against drug trafficking was imperative because of its negative impact in the society, if left to fester.
Marwa said hard drug scourge in Nigeria had become very high with over 15m drug users within the age bracket of 15 and 64 years, according to the relevant agency of the United Nations survey and called for the support and cooperation of the State Government in the fight against the scourge.
According to him, the agency, in two years, had destroyed nearly over 1,000 hectares of land devoted to the cultivation of illicit drugs, seized over 6,000 tonnes and arrested over 36,000 suspects and persons of interest, while over 6,000 were convicted and jailed.
He traced the rampant kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, insurgency, rape, murder and other vices across the country to hard drug abuse by perpetrators.
The highpoint of the visit was the decoration of Oborevwori as an Ambassador in the fight against drug and substance abuse.
Oborevwori also played host to the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Special Operations Command, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshal Ewa Effiom, and his delegation in Asaba last week during which he commended the NAF for its huge contributions to the war against insurgency and terrorism in the country.
The governor particularly lauded the AOC for the numerous accolades garnered over the years and for being instrumental to the successes achieved in the war against insurgency in the North East.
He stated that through the M.O.R.E Agenda, his administration remained committed to ensuring peace and security throughout the State.
Earlier, Air Vice Marshal Effiom said he was in the State on an operational visit to one of the units under his command in Warri. He said his visit was to ascertain how they were faring with a view to knowing their challenges and how to resolve them.
Meanwhile, Oborevwori has continued to receive plaudits from stakeholders over the award of contracts for the flyovers and road expansion projects in Effurun and Warri to construction giants, Julius Berger, with the recent coming from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Effurun branch.
Speaking in Effurun, the Chairman, Ben Ubioworo, stated that the lawyers’ body was elated by the governor’s move to execute quality and durable infrastructural projects in the State.
Ubioworo noted that Oborevwori had, by resorting to Julius Berger, broken new grounds in his selfless desire to entrench a culture of quality projects for the benefit of Deltans. He said that the timely completion of the earmarked projects would transform the twin cities of Effurun and Warri to mega cities befitting of their status as oil- rich cities just as he applauded the Governor for being intentional about building a legacy of standard projects.
The NBA Chairman urged monarchs, youths and community leaders to ensure and guarantee a peaceful and secure environment to enable the contractor complete the projects in record time.
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