Concerned elders in the Kaduna North Senatorial District have commended the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabim Musa, the chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), and a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI), for initiating the anti-drug campaign in the Central and Southern senatorial districts of the state.
Under the auspices of the Kaduna North Senatorial Elders’ Forum, the senior citizens said the joint campaign resonates with the vulnerable populations in the two senatorial districts, considering the feelers received by independent investigators.
Specifically, the elders noted with admiration, that the deradicalisation and reformation programme has rescued hundreds of youths, including women, from the jaws of drug addiction.
Accordingly, the forum has made a passionate appeal to the CDS, and other partners to extend the laudable campaign to Kaduna North Senatorial zone, with a view to rehabilitating drug addicts within the area.
The elders made the passionate call in an open letter signed by Sheikh Baba Ibrahim (Zaria, LGA), Sheikh Mohammed Hassan (Ikara LGA), Alhaji Nakaka Gambo (Lere LGA), Dr Hamza Kudan (Kudan LGA), and Alhaji Maigari Suleiman Soba (LGA).
Other signatories include Mr Bitrus Maigrima (Sabon Gari Local Government); Hajiya Mairo Danjuma ( Makarfi LGA) and Mrs Grace Maiwazi (Kubau Local Government).
Their SOS followed the Kaduna Central Senatorial District Youth Anti-Drugs and Deradicalization Campaign 2024, which was held at Arewa House in Kaduna North Local Government.
The event, convened by the Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI), in conjunction with the Defence Headquarters and the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, not only served as a platform for impact assessment but also appreciated collaborators for their unwavering partnership and determination to contain drug abuse and addiction in the state.
In their open letter, the Kaduna North Senatorial District Elders’ Forum said the need for extending the laudable initiative had been urgent and compelling, considering the nexus between drug abuse and crime in the country.
The elders said: “We are using this open letter to thank the CDS, General Musa; the NDLEA Chair, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) and the Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative for recognising the damaging effects that drug and substance abuse has brought upon the state and the urgent need for intervention.
“Our commendation is predicated on the damage drug abuse has done to our youths, and even women, leading to broken homes, values, and worsening insecurity.
“As elders, our first reaction, when we got acquainted with the programme, was to send an independent team to interview the ordinary people on the streets of Kaduna Central, and South, including markets and other places of interest.
“It was interesting to find that the programme has continued to gain acceptability across the segments of society who have remained at the receiving end of drug and substance abuse in the respective communities,” the forum said.
