Malam Wada Maida, the Chairman of an Abuja-based NGO, Peace Builders Security Concepts, has called on Governors of States in the North-West to consider the possibility of establishing state-controlled outfits to compliment the efforts of the NDLEA in fighting drug abuse in the region.
Maida made the call in Daura, Katsina State, on Thursday during a one-day stakeholders roundtable on Drug Abuse and Youth Restiveness in the state.
He described drug abuse among the youths as the most deadly and dangerous phenomenon retarding the socio-economic development of the region and the nation.
“We must intensify efforts to tame the tide of this ugly trend,’’ he said .
The chairman also expressed concern over the number and way rehabilitation centers for drug addicts were being administered, stressing that drug addicts were sick people, hence the need for experts such as Psychologists, Psychiatrics and qualified Nurses to be handling the affairs of such centres.
He said his NGO believed that the future of the nation lied in the youths, hence the need for the roundtable to hold across the three senatorial districts in the state.
He said the exercise was to educate the youths on the dangers of drug abuse as well as enlighten and get the commitment of the local community to take ownership of the solutions to the menace.
“The recent world drug report indicated that drug abuse is growing by the day in Nigeria,” Maida said.
He commended the Katsina State Government for partnering with the NGO to rid the state of drug abuse and youth restiveness, stressing that, “ we will try our very best to safeguard the future of our children’’.
Wada Maida is a former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and the current Chairman of the Board of the agency.
