Addressing Drug Abuse In Imo State

The workshop championed by the NDLEA was jointly organised with Good Hope Foundation (an initiative of the Imo First Lady) and the State Ministry of Women Affairs on June 26, 2023.

The workshop brought the wives of sole administrators drawn from the 27 local government areas while the wife of Imo State Governor, Barrister Chioma Uzodimma was represented by the wife of the speaker of the state assembly, Mrs Chike Olemgbe.

The Imo State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abubakar Liman Wali told the audience that in a determined move to ensure Imo State was free of drugs, the state NDLEA command held trainings on drug abuse prevention and management for 78 personnel in the secondary education sector which comprised of teachers, counsellors and school administrators.

Other personnel trained were 50 security operatives drawn from the Armed Forces, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

According to the NDLEA boss, the workshop was in commemoration of the United Nations Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with the theme, “People first: stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention”.

Wali said 25 drug dependent persons were successfully rehabilitated at their rehab centre, adding that they have trained personnel that help people beat drug habits.

He maintained that the agency had partnered several schools, some of which participated in a quiz, pick and act, speak out campaigns and cultural dance.

The state NDLEA Assistant Commander, Operations, Shehu Lamuwa in a lecture listed some of the causes of drug abuse to include: availability, accessibility, affordability, extreme poverty, economic instability, insecurity, negative advertisement, get rich or die-trying syndrome, corruption of the criminal justice system, lack of clear anti-drug abuse policy committee from state governments, amongst others.

According to him, drug abuse is in stages, starting from experimentation, occasional/irregular use, regular use and then independence or addiction.

Lamuwa regretted that out of four drug users, one is a female, adding that cannabis, methamphetamine (mpkurummiri/guzoro), cocaine, tramadol, marijuana, cigarette, shisha and alcohol were in high use within the state.

He appealed to the wives of sole administrators to reach out to other women in their communities, to rise up to their responsibility of influencing their family members towards positivity and shun drug use.

According to him, the use of hard drugs causes lung cancer, liver cirrhosis, physical, social and mental problems.

Lamuwa appealed against stigmatisation of people recovering from drug abuse and admonished people to refer such persons to NDLEA for help and rehabilitation.

He listed some prevention efforts to include stop early drug use and involvement of experts in the management of drug issues.

There was a display of different drugs before the participants to enable them sight it and recognise it especially when used by children of school age.

To ensure a drug-free state, Lamuwa called for the establishment of drug abuse control committees, school drug abuse protection and teacher training programmes, training of president-generals of communities on drug-use prevention.

Others are to assist the NDLEA to tame drug use, design policies to stop drug problem in collaboration with traditional institutions. He emphasized the need for good-spirited individuals and companies to commit themselves to social responsibility for a healthy society.