From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
A former Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’aba has urged governments to team up with parents in the fight against drug abuse.
According to the former reps member, the high point of apprehending drug and substance abuse has to start from the homes. He said, “it is in the homes that parents have the responsibility to make sure that their children are brought up with a very strong sense of morality”.
Speaking at Maitama Sule Leadership Lectures Series that was organized by the student’s wing of Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) On Thursday in Gombe, Na’aba who was represented by Comrade Salisu Muhammed said, “Parents have to be reminded and encouraged not to at any point or way allow their children to associate with those on drugs”.
“They must be a level of cooperation between those in the authority and parents, once this step is taken at home, it will guide the children to run away from drugs and to ensure that those who are in the habit are exposed,” the ex-lawmaker stated.
He described the lecture, titled ‘the socio-economic consequences of drug abuse and its remedies in northern Nigeria’ which was to celebrate the legacy of the late Yusuf Maitama Sule (Danmasanin Kano) for the program which according to him was aimed at mobilizing the youths: “who are being challenged by the social phenomenon of drug and substance abuse”.
“We believe that unless our youths are being made aware about the dangers that drugs pose to our society, we are going to find ourselves in a very embracing and terrible situation, taking into cognizance what is happening in other parts of the world, where you see nations locking their borders because of the precocity of drug barons that are defying orders to transport dangerous drugs for abuses,” said Na’aba.
He further stated that the activities of drug barons are all targeted at the young people who are expected to focus on development and wealth creation as well as to lead millions of people out of poverty. “If these types of people are allowed distracted with drug consumption it means that prospect will be lost and that the chances of lifting millions of our people out of poverty will become a mirage”.
“Therefore, Nigeria youths have a duty to organize themselves and to ensure that they create the necessary awareness so as to create the consorted statue of consciousness that will make them not only to refute the consumption of these dangerous drugs that pervious of these drugs are brought to book.
“Government has been and are doing a lot, however, the government’s agents and agencies need to be strengthened, they need to be fortified with appropriate tools to do their job, these drug barons are so sophisticated, they have enormous resources with which they are committing this satanic trade,” Na’aba stated.