Wives of the governors of 19 northern states have vowed to intensify the fight against rising cases of drug abuse in the region.
The Chairperson of the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum (NGWF), Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello, made this declaration in Minna at the commissioning of the remodelled Social Rehabilitation Centre on Wednesday.
“As mothers, the Northern Governors Wives Forum is willing and ready to contribute its own quota in fighting this menace as no nation will progress if its most productive age group who are potential leaders of tomorrow are affected by drug abuse,” she said.
According to her, Nigeria’s most productive population has become the most vulnerable, regretting that the North tops the chart of the most affected region.
“We are saddened by serious menace of drugs and other substance abuse that has befallen the youth of our great country particularly in the Northern states.
“Reports have shown a large number of Nigerian youths abuse drugs ranging from depressants like marijuana, alcohol, barbiturates, morphine, codeine, hypnotics, sedatives, and anxiolytics , to stimulants such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, ephedrine, cocaine with Northern states having the highest figures,” she explained.
She said the Forum will ensure that rehabilitation centres are established in all the northern states to cater for those who are already addicted.
“Our aim is to ensure each state in Northern Nigeria is equipped to handle drug abuse by creating prevention programmes that are sustainable and impactful,” she noted.
She said the problem of drug abuse is compounded by the lack of addiction treatment and rehabilitation centres across the country for proper treatment and re-integration of victims.
“Also, most importantly is the lack of prevention strategies and programmes to curb the growing numbers of victims who fall prey to the menace,” she pointed out.
She added that the advocacy of the Northern Governor’s Wives Forum against drug and substance abuse will help to address some of these challenges faced in combating drug abuse in the region.
She further explained that the increasing rate of drug abuse has exacerbated the spate of insecurity in the northern states, while urging governors to block all access to illicit drugs in their respective states.
She urged parents and the people to be vigilant about the activities of their children, adding that doing so will ensure early detection and remediative measures.
