The Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2019 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on the Federal Government, especially the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to re-strategise on how to arrest the present menace of hard drugs in Nigeria, which, according to him, “is evidently ruining many youths.”
In a statement, Obi said it would be irresponsible on the parts of elders to keep quiet in the face of the ugly stories emanating from various parts of the country on the new trend on hard drugs among Nigerian youths.
While commending various groups that have spoken on the menace, especially some towns that have been trying different methods to arrest the disturbing trend, Obi called on NDLEA to devise a new strategy that will involve working closely with the government of various town unions across Nigeria towards arresting the new development.
Describing youths as the future of any society, Obi said that when these 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, who said he recognised the great efforts the NDLEA was making in the fight against drug abuse, said that the rapidity and openness with which youths were embracing the condemnable acts was a sign that something was fundamentally wrong with the society and called for the society to seek and correct those fundamental wrongs as lasting panacea to the menace.
“The United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) 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 youths from the ugly trend”, the former governor of Anambra State said.
