NDLEA Urges Kwarans to Unite Against Drug Abuse

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Kwara State Command has called for the collaboration of all stakeholders to prevent drug abuse and improve society.

The state commander of the agency, Mohammed Ibrahim, made this call during the commemoration of the 2024 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking.

The event, themed “The Evidence is Clear: Invest In Prevention,” was organized by the agency in collaboration with the state government in Ilọrin.

According to him, preventing drug abuse is the best way to minimize drug trafficking. Commander Ibrahim emphasized that all hands must be on deck to reduce the activities of drug traffickers.

He noted that the agency has made considerable progress with the adoption of prevention mechanisms.

The NDLEA Commander explained that the hostile environment in communities has subsided, and residents now provide information on the activities of drug traffickers in their areas.

He appealed for more investment in the prevention of drug abuse, stressing that prevention is better than cure.

In his address, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Ahmed El-Imam, highlighted the need to invest in prevention to break the cycle of suffering associated with drug addiction.

She noted that drug addiction leads to loss of body mass and can result in death. Dr. El-Imam advised youths to shun reckless lifestyles and drug abuse.

In a remark, the guest speaker at the occasion, Pharmacist Grace Aliyu, urged parents to take an active interest in their children’s activities to save them from joining bad gangs.

On her part, the chairperson of the Kwara State Drug Control Committee, Pharmacist Barakat Olanrewaju, stated that with the new approach adopted, the state aims to drop from its 14 percent prevalence in drug abuse.

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