The Vice Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in 2019 election, and a former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on the Federal Government, especially the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to re-strategise in its fight against the present menace of hard drugs in Nigeria, which, according to him, is evidently ruining many youths.
Mr Obi stated this In a release made available to the press by his Media Office.
He cautioned that it would be irresponsible on the part of the elders to keep quiet in the face of the ugly stories emanating from different parts of the country on the new trend on hard drugs among Nigerian youths.
He commended various groups, especially some towns that have been trying different methods to arrest the disturbing trend, and called on the NDLEA to devise new strategies that will involve working closely with the government of various town unions across the country towards arresting the new development.
The former governor described the youths as the future of any society, warning that when the youths the society is supposed to repose hope on are disoriented or rendered visionless by a society that does not take their future into consideration, they may likely go off track.
Obi recognized the great efforts the NDLEA was making in the fight against drug abuse, but expressed worry at the rapidity and openness with which the youths were embracing the condemnable acts, saying that it was a sign that something was fundamentally wrong with the Society.
He urged the society to identify and correct those fundamental wrongs as lasting panacea to the menace.
According to him, “The United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) has earlier reported that Nigeria has the highest drug abuse prevalence in the world, with 14.4 per cent of Nigerians presently engaged in drug abuse. The situation will possibly be worse now with the recent spate of drug abuse among Nigerian youths. A timely action by the government and the concerned agencies will help save the youths from the ugly trend”, Obi concluded.
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