Sokoto rehab centre from where drug addicts come out clean

The rehabilitation of victims of drug addiction is never an easy task. Cases of many going back to their old ways abound. However, some others come clean after therapy and are finally integrated into the society. But the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Sokoto State was able to certify a clean bill of health for 135 drug victims in the last one year.
Its Commander in the state, Musbahu Idris said the organisation counseled and rehabilitated the victims through its rehabilitation centre within the command constructed by the Sokoto State Government.
The centre is secure to the extent that it has never recorded any case of the inmates trying to escape. Though a correction facility, the inner part of the building is decorated with flowers and enjoys non-stop water supply. The rooms also are well spaced, with four inmates per room, rather than the ten it could comfortably contain.
However, the inmates’ parents or relatives pay the bills and there is no provision for their feeding by the government. In the facility, apart from counseling and rehabilitation, the victims are taught computer knowledge and other crafts, such as tailoring, and are allowed to move freely and even engage in sporting activities.
Daily Trust observed that the inmates feel at home, are outspoken, courteous and even remorseful. Among them was a 20-year-old university dropout brought to the centre by her mother. The girl said she was introduced to drugs by friends and fellow students and took three bottles of cough syrup with codeine and Rohypnol daily. She also attributed her troubles to family problems since her parents separated six years ago.
Another victim, a 33-year-old graduate of Usman Danfodiyo University and currently working in one of the federal establishments, said he had been on hard drugs for over ten years. He said he was influenced by friends at the age of thirteen and regretted that he wasted most of his productive time.
Similarly, a 400-level student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said addiction is not a game one can quit anytime and the only preventive measure was not to start at all.
The officer in charge of the Drugs Demand Reduction Unit and overseerof the centre, Mrs Azura Sanchi, regretted that society is losing their brilliant people to drugs. She accused parents of being indifferent to their children rather than taking them as their friends, adding that some youth take to drugs because of domestic problems. Some to revenge insensitiveness to their plight by their parents and some because of the influence of peer groups.
Sanchi explained that it takes from between three months and one year to rehabilitate victims, depending on the seriousness of the case. The victims are subjected to intensive counseling and rehabilitation, aimed at dissuading them from their former path. Also, they are taught many other things, so that by the time they leave the centre they will be totally engaged.
Alhaji Idris, the NDLEA Commander in the state said the menace has no bounds, region or age, because, among the victims were married women, fathers and teenagers, pointing out that it is a cancer that requires collective effort to defeat.
He said that since the inception of the centre in 2014, they have rehabilitated over 300 victims and they are still in contact with some of them who frequently call to thank them for changing their lives. But he added that the centre lacked beddings, a standby generator and medical personnel to look after the victims, among others. He also called on the government to take charge of the feeding of victims as some parents cannot afford meals for their children.