Good evening comrade.
In the last 15 months, NDLEA has intercepted over 2.19 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs of different kinds. As an advocate against drug abuse. 1. what is the implication for Nigeria? 2 is NDLEA winning the drug war? 3. What steps are you advocating for in mitigating drug abuse, use and misuse in Nigeria? 4. Why are traffickers not giving up of the illicit business ?and more. Please I will appreciate if you can send something to me before 12 noon tomorrow as I will be delivering a copy on it? Thanks and much appreciated..
(1) The direct implications are twofold. First, it demonstrates that the NDLEA under the current hierarchy is working relentlessly to rid Nigeria of the notoriety of being the transit country for hard drugs. Secondly, it is disturbing to learn that despite the attendant risks in engaging in the crime of trafficking hard drugs to such far Countries in Asia, Middle East, and particularly to jurisdictions whereby trafficking of drugs could see the offender executed by firing squads. In the second instance as aforementioned, these statistics should be an eye opener for the President of Nigeria and the National Assembly to upgrade the funding status of the NDLEA to be from direct line charge of the federation accounts rather than continue to receive annual budgetary approvals through the envelope system under a federal ministry of justice. This high rate of confiscation of hard drugs, should be a booster for government to decisively grant greater funding and operational autonomy to NDLEA especially because the President got it right by fixing square peg in square hole by appointing the best person for the job of Chairman and Chief executive officer in the person of retired Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa.
(2) YES. NDLEA under General Marwa has attained global acclaim and generally bothered international community and the good people of Nigeria have acknowledged that the current leadership of NDLEA is about the best in the history of NDLEA. (3) Setting up of rehabilitation centres, call centres all across Nigeria is key to finding lasting solution to the unprecedented rate of addictions to drugs by a lot of Nigerians.There has to be a synergy as it were between the NDLEA and other sister agencies like NAFDAC and the private sector to create enabling environment for the massive setting up of rehab centres that wouldn’t cost families of the addicts so much in the care and rehabilitation of addicts. Schools, religious places of worship, patriots, the media should all provide support to NDLEA because the campaign to minimise addictions is a collection time tasks. (5) Because of profitability. Usually, prohibited businesses are very profitable because there is no perfect competition since only the brave get involved in the business. Hard drugs intake cut across all statuses and classifications. Hard drugs are items that fascinate the rich, the poor and the not so rich and so the turn over is very high. Secondly, in the past, NDLEA was not administered professionally like we see it now under the current dispensation and so due to the existence then of many loose ends at the levels of enforcement mechanisms of the law against the crime of hard drugs, you then find that Nigerians who embraced the criminal enterprise are not giving up.
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).