KEY POINTS

• Tinubu should declare drug abuse an emergency – NDLEA.
• Marwa says there have been a rise in arrests, convictions as well as drug seizures under his watch.
• A 40 percent increase in drug use across Africa will be seen by 2030, it predicts.

Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has called on President Bola Tinubu, to declare a state of emergency on drug abuse in Nigeria.

Marwa said a whole of society is urgently required to overcome the ‘worsening’ substance abuse and drug trafficking situation in the country while speaking at the Island Club Business Forum in Lagos on Tuesday.

This is a collective responsibility

“And this is not just a challenge for the government.” Marwa said it is assignment for all Nigerians. He called on Nigerian elites, parents, business leaders to join NDLEA’s war on ensuring that young people don’t experiment with both licit and illicit drugs.

“When we all come together, and when we play our unique roles, together we can make great things happen,” he adds. “Each and every one of us has a role to play and the simplest of those roles is advocacy.”

The president also urged institutions synonymous with the name of the Island Club to join in the fight against drug abuse. ‘Spreading the word about drug misuse can save lives.’

Progress made and challenges confronted by NDLEA…

Since coming on board three years ago, Marwa has highlighted the agency’s achievements including reductions in both drug supply and demand.

We have, in three years six, arrested 52,901 traffickers including 52 barons and secured 9,034 convictions, he disclosed. The NDLEA also seized 8.6 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs and destroyed 1,572 hectares of cannabis farms.

But Marwa warned of the challenges that lie ahead, pointing to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report that predicts drug use across Africa will rise 40% by 2030, especially among people aged 25 to 34, fueled by population growth.

A call to action

Marwa also appealed to society to chip in and speak against drug abuse alongside the NDLEA and support policies to tackle the root causes of the vice.

For the benefit of future generations of Nigeria, it’s all ours. Together, we can save more lives from the ashes of illicit drugs, he said.