General Mohammed Buba Marwa idea to start his fight against drug abuses from the High institutions of learning could be regarded as timely and germane, to forestall the lost of dignity and erosion of values for our future graduates/leaders in the shortest possible time.
This timely intervention by the NDLEA is needful as our Higher institutions of learning had being converted to a learning ground were illicit drugs are being patronised.
The era of code naming our learning environment as area designated for ‘Character and Learning’ had gone with it’s values and attributes,but now a breeding ground for in-depth drug peddling ,peddlers and all sorts of abuses.
A common traits of a tertiary institutions students today is traces of all manners of consumption of hard drugs from cocaine, heroine,Indian help both locally made and sophisticated ones, including the abuse of our normal drugs used in the treatment of ailements like pain reliefs,cough syrups and other highly drowning drugs in the market.
The facts of the height of drugs consumption and abuses of all sorts in the ivory towers justifies the new Chairman CEO of NDLEA position of action,but it may interest Nigerians to know,that the onerous task will have to trickle down to the elementary level of primary and secondary schools.
It is a known fact that some school children,drop outs, and others under the guise of association, interaction engaged in all forms of drug abuses ranging from the othordox drugs to the unorthodox ones.
The high level consumption and drug abuses finds it’s way from the early days as elementary school pupils with affiliation of children with questionable characters and orientation.
This abuses gradually metamorphosed into the consumption of sophisticated drugs of different shapes and sizes in our institutions.
Our learning environment is characterised by all manners of cultist activities and secret agencies formed by students not to advance their learning process,but according to them make them ‘Hard’ to confront the unusual.
This negative developement had led to various crises within and outside the schools of higher institutions, and sometimes lead to riots as it goes unabated with killings of one another within the rival agents.
With General Mohammed Buba Marwa’s foresight and policy statement,the return of conducive atmosphere to our institutions is near and should also be extended to NYSC orientation camps,as that is another point of convergence for the patronisers of illicit drugs and abuses.
With his wealth of experience,a permanent solutions will be arrived at by the NDLEA ,through the deployment of personnel to the institutions for inspection, observation and close monitoring, along with authorities of the schools making students to sign an undertaking of non consumption of hard drugs while in school.
Since General Marwa enjoys working in a challenging environment from his antecedents,the issue of drugs consumption and abuses in our institutions of learning will become a thing of the past,as his decision, determination,action will be regarded as the best thing that will happen to Nigeria in the nearest future.
No doubt his appointment was greeted with enthusiasm from the staffers of the para-Military agency, Nigerians and the international Communities.
Written By Abubakar Yusuf.
Writes for OBSERVERS TIMES
