A property developer and managing director of Mubdhab Homes Ltd, Dr Abubakar Salami, has advised parents of children suffering from drugs abuse not to give up on them.
He said such children can still stay out of the infamous practice and become successful if well-handled.
Salami said only God can decide who is useless, adding that once someone with drug addiction takes a personal decision to stop the habit, he or she is capable of changing the narrative and becoming a useful individual in the society.
He stated this on Wednesday during an interview with journalists in Abuja.
He said he was involved in substance abuse for about 12 years before he decided to stay out of the practice.
He also said that he became diligent in property business and can now share his success story for others to emulate.
Advising parents of children with drug abuse, Salami said, “Don’t give up on your children suffering from substance abuse. Don’t lose hope. It‘s like we say, it’s an illness, right? You would continue to find help and cure. Then another advice I have to parents is make your house a shield.
“The first point that drives people into these things is that it‘s like a form of escape. So, what are the children, the young ones trying to escape from? Abuse from unconventional homes. So, it’s many times the parents have subconsciously driven their children into this lifestyle with their ways and lifestyle.
“Just imagine, you come to the house and you’re beating your wife all the time and your child doesn’t like that sight. Your child goes to stay in the streets and he gets hooked.
“You‘re a father in absentia, you‘re not always around. Your child finds solace in the streets, your child gets hooked. It‘s mostly from the streets, right? Now, if you build a proper home where there‘s love, protection, shield around your children, your place of children, even when they go to school and they meet children from those unconventional homes, that love and that guidance will shield them.”
Regarding his practical steps for a dynamic society, Salami said, “What makes me happy is to bring a lot of people out of these dark places, because I know how it feels to be there, it is not a place anybody wants to be.
“So, I use my platform, my business to drive a lot of these things, giving hand in service to those who have been suffering for so long. I also use to tell them – It is only the grace of God that can bring you out of that place, so the only way to give back to say thank you is by extending that hand, to bring other people, to allow God to use them for positive change.
“Only God can decide who is useless. I have all the courses and reasons to succeed in life because I know how it feels to be a failure. And it is a place I don‘t wish for my enemy.
“And it is a place I don‘t want to go back to, when I started my business, I started outlining what makes you fail in business. And I looked at integrity, transparency, honesty, and relationships as greed makes you fail.
“So, I outlined the things that make you a good businessman, the things that make you fail, after reading tons of books because I love to read. And I now realize that, oh, success is something you attract. You don‘t chase it, right? What do I do to attract? I need to be diligent,” he said.
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