Drug abuse: FG urged to declare state of emergency

A community self-help group for youth development (GAYAMFO), in Gandun Albasa area of the Kano metropolis, has called on the federal and state governments to declare a state of emergency on drug abuse as it is becoming an issue that needs a collective effort to prevent.

The group, in collaboration with a committee of elders working for the betterment of orphans in the community, made the call during a one-day sensitization lecture for youths on the dangers of drug abuse and how it can be cured and prevented.

The keynote speaker, Rabi’u Muhammad Fagge, who delivered a lecture titled, “Dangers of Drug Abuse on Human Health,” said the menace was alarming because of a 2018 report which showed that 14.3 million out of 275 million global drug addicts were from Nigeria and increasing day by day.

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He urged the government to “declare a state of emergency on drug abuse so that it can focus attention towards rescuing the future of the country.”

Another speaker, Malam Taufiq Aminu Yahaya, who delivered a paper titled, “Drug Abuse as Long Standing Illness in human beings,” said society, especially government and parents, must rise to confront the problem.