Vanguard Against Drug Abuse Abuse (VGADA) detox centre has emphasised the need to secure the future of Nigeria by addressing decisively the pervasive problem of drug abuse.
The Executive Director, VGADA, Dr Hope Omeiza, said this during the National Youth Conference in commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Friday in Abuja.
Omeiza said that the issue of drug abuse was currently threatening to destroy the future of the youths which he described as leaders of tomorrow.
The theme of the conference is: “The Youth, Drugs, Mental Health and Nigeria’s Future”.
Omeiza, who doubled as the Convener, said that the subject to be addressed had negatively impacted many households in Nigeria.
He said: “Nigerian Youths are a formidable and productive force to be reckoned with. However, drug abuse has begun to take its toll on the productivity of a reasonable percentage of our youth.
“The Nigerian population is made up of about 70 per cent of youths which is about 151 million, reportedly the highest population of youths in the world.
“Unfortunately, over 10 per cent of this youth population takes hard drugs and suffers from substance use disorders.
“For this country to thrive, the youth who are the bedrock need to be healthy and sane, but substance abuse is leaving no stone unturned as it has continued to batter the mental health of a lot of our youths.
“We need to secure the future of Nigeria by addressing decisively this pervasive problem of drug abuse which is currently threatening to destroy the future of the leaders of tomorrow.
“I was once a drug user who would have amounted to nothing but today I am able to make some reasonable impact because I received intervention of some sort,“ he said.
Omeiza said that there were a lot of youths out there, who wanted to be useful and whose intellectual property if harnessed properly, would impact the country positively.
“They are however unable to contribute their quota because they are helpless and unable to withstand the influence of substance abuse“ he said.
Speaking, the Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, represented by the NDLEA, Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said that Drug use was common among those who were between the ages of 25 and 39 years.
He said that the fuller picture of the fact was that 14. 3 million of the Nigerian population was hooked on drugs with youth in the majority, in the region of at least eight million.
He added: “The gravity of it would not be lost on Nigeria when we come to think of it that about 15 or more African countries do not have up to eight million population.
“However, NDLEA is working hard to make care, treatment and rehabilitation available and accessible to young people,“ he said.
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