Vanguard Against Drug Abuse Abuse (VGADA) detox centre has said that there was need to secure the future of Nigeria by addressing decisively the pervasive problem of drug abuse.
The Executive Director, VGADA, Dr Hope Omeiza said this during the National Youth Conference in commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit trafficking on Friday in Abuja.
Omeiza said that the issue of drug abuse was presently threatening to destroy the future of the youths which he described as leaders of tomorrow.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the conference is tagged “The Youth, Drugs, Mental Health and Nigeria’s Future.
Omeiza, who doubled as the Convener said that the subject to be addressed was one that had negatively impacted many households in Nigeria.
According to him, with great sadness, while working under the auspices of my organisation, I have witnessed firsthand the torment our youth who suffer from drug abuse go through.
He said “Nigerian Youths are a formidable and productive force to be reckoned with, however, drug abuse has begun to take its toll on the productivity of a reasonable percentage of our youth.
“The Nigerian population is made up of about 70 per cent of youths which is about 151 million, reportedly the highest population of youths in the world.
“Unfortunately, over 10 per cent of this youth population takes hard drugs and suffers from substance use disorders.
“For this country to thrive, the youth who are the bedrock need to be healthy and sane, but substance abuse is leaving no stone unturned as it has continued to batter the mental health of a lot of our youths.
“We need to secure the future of Nigeria by addressing decisively this pervasive problem of drug abuse which is presently threatening to destroy the future of the Leaders of tomorrow.
“I was once a drug user who would have amounted to nothing, but today, I am able to make some reasonable impact because I received intervention of some sorts, “he said.
Omeiza said that there were a lot of youths out there, who wanted to be useful and whose intellectual property if harnessed properly, would impact the country positively.
“They are however unable to contribute their quota, because they are helpless and unable to withstand the influence of substance abuse.
“Today, we have a gathering of well meaning government officials and heads of agencies, seasoned health experts, activists among others.
“It is my hope that our robust discourse here today would illuminate us on the gravity of the problem we have at hand, and help us churn out reasonable and lasting solutions to this menace, “he said.
Speaking, the Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa said that the concept of drug abuse was not new nor esoteric.
Marwa, who was represented by the NDLEA, Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi said that Drug use was common among those who were between the ages of 25 and 39 years.
He said that the fuller picture of the fact was that 14. 3 million of the Nigeria population was hooked on drugs with youth in the majority, in the region of at least eight million.
He said that the figure might seem inconsequential in the light of the humongous population of over 206 million.
He added “the gravity of it would not be lost on Nigeria when we come to think of it that about 15 or more African countries do not have up to eight million population.
According to him, These are the likes of Togo, Mauritania, Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Libya and Liberia to mention a few.
“And also about 28 European countries do not have eight million population. And here we are, we have about that number of youths abusing drugs in our own country.
“However, NDLEA is working hard to make care, treatment and rehabilitation available and accessible to young people, “he said.
In her remarks, Ms Titilope Gbadamosi, Senior Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives (Delivering and Monitoring) said that the issue of youth and drugs was one thing that would continue to reinforce in the submission about youth initiatives.
Gbadamosi however, commended the President Bola Tinubu’s administration saying that “what the presidency and even the government of Nigeria is doing was a whole lot.
“ The Ministry of Youth Development is thriving heavily on collaboration and we are doing everything we can to make sure that the menace of drug abuse is going to an all time low in Nigeria.
“And this we are not doing all alone by ourselves. I mentioned earlier that we have a good relationship with the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime(UNODC).
“And we have quite a number of initiatives that we are working on with them, which we’ll be announcing to you very soon. Our strength of collaborating is also what we have come here to do today, “she said.
Other Stakeholders present during the conference, enlightened youths on the dangers of drug abuse, illicit substance use and illicit trafficking.
