Kaduna State Government is partnering with the United Nation to strengthen the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking to ensure a healthy society, an official said on Wednesday.
The Director-General, Kaduna State Bureau for Substance, Abuse, Prevention and Treatment, Dr Isah Baka, made the remarks at a law enforcement stakeholders meeting to mark the 2019 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Kaduna.
Baka said the collaboration was aimed at repositioning and strengthening the efforts of government in ending substance abuse and treating those addicted to it.
He said: “It is not possible for us to pick on every individual hence the need for the collaboration by bringing people together to discuss, harness and seek out ways to curb the menace that has bedeviled our society which is unpleasant to citizens of the country.”
He lamented on how drugs have taken resourcefulness out of youths by making them dependants, saying the consequences of the menace is very dangerous.
He said: “My heart bleeds each time I see youths getting abused with substances. You find youths who collectively gang up together doing nothing except doing drugs.”
Baka therefore called on those youths who are yet to involve themselves in the drug menace to avoid it completely and also avoid the influence of friends.
He said: “Do not let anything of glamour lure you to drug abuse because you will get involved in something you can’t finish.”
Speaking, the Kaduna State Commander, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, Bala Fage, stressed the need to partner stakeholders to fight the scourge of drugs abuse in the country.
He mentioned the need to bring the communities to fore in fighting drugs abuse, saying, the roles of the communities cannot be overemphasised in curbing the menace.
According to the Commander, “today the issue of drugs abuse and its consequences is at its climax such that, housewives, teenagers and children are all involved in drug abuse”.
Fage explained that from January till date, the agency was able to confiscate and destroy over one thousand two hundred kilograms of Cannabis in the state.
A reformed patient of drug substance who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria expressed regret over her involvement in drug abuse.
He said: “I was lured by a man into drugs and left home, but I am now repentant and have sought forgiveness from my parents. I am now a changed person.”
The June 26 every year is set aside by the United Nations to mark the day against illicit drugs and trafficking.
NAN reports that the theme for this year is “Health for Justice and Justice for Health”.
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