In a bid to curb the rising tide of drug abuse among Nigerian youth, the Kwara State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Hajia Fatima Abiola-Popoola, has called for the introduction of mandatory drug testing as a prerequisite for admission into tertiary institutions.
This move aims to prevent drug use among students and provide early intervention for those already struggling with addiction, thereby safeguarding the future of Nigeria’s young population.
The commander disclosed this on Saturday (August 17, 2024) during an interactive session with Journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
Hajia Abiola-Popoola expressed concern over the alarming rise in drug abuse cases, particularly among females, warning that this trend poses a significant threat to the stability of families and the broader society.
She said, “According to a 2018 survey, 14.3 million people were using drugs in Nigeria, one out of 7 persons in Nigeria is a drug user, and it also revealed that one out of 4 drug users is a woman, and this shows that the society is in trouble. This is because a woman is the administrator of the home and now that women have started abusing drug, then the society is in trouble”.
Abiola-Popoola harped on the synergy with traditional rulers in the crusade against drug trafficking and abuse, stating that success in the fight depends on the support of the stakeholders at the behest of the traditional institution.
“The traditional rulers have some control over their people and they are the closest to the communities, and whenever they say a word, it almost becomes a law amongst their people who hold them in high esteem. They have a stronghold of their communities, and that is why they are very important in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
“We have been making use of the traditional rulers over the years. In fact, as part of our mandate and also the people that we grouped as stakeholders in the society, the traditional rulers are part of it. Because when traditional heads rise up in their respective communities against drug traffickers, their people will join them in the fight.
“In 2021, the then President, Muhammadu Buhari, launched the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) and in launching it, all traditional rulers were represented because the aim of this WADA is community mobilization, which will be led by the traditional rulers”, she said.
Abiola-Popoola, however, appealed to traditional rulers to pay close attention to their communities by placing people in strategic positions to help them gather information on drug situation in their communities with a view to inviting NDLEA when the need arose.
The commander, who had earlier visited the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, expressed gratitude to the monarch for his support for the new leadership of the agency in the state.
“The Emir of Ilorin assured us of his support and cooperation. He even promised that other traditional heads in Kwara State will support us because any community that we are going into will be informed that we are coming, and this is very important for us, and we are really grateful to the Emir”, she said.
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