Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has said the push for drug integrity test for youth corps members, prospective couples and others is not punitive.
Marwa, in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, on Wednesday, said it is to discourage substance abuse and provide early treatment for those who test positive before their condition degenerate to drug dependence and other health challenges.
Marwa stated this during a meeting with the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig Gen Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu who led top officials of NYSC on a courtesy visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
He congratulated the NYSC boss on his recent appointment while he described the scheme as a national treasure and a veritable instrument of national unity.
The NDLEA boss said: “The drug scourge has continued to devastate our kids, families, communities, everywhere, there’s nowhere you go in the country that you don’t have a drug abuse problem. One in seven Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64, use drugs.\xa0
“You have mentioned our efforts to cut off access and availability of these drugs but beyond that we have to work with all stakeholders including NYSC to ensure drastic reduction in the demand for drugs by our youths and one of our strategies to address this is through our drug integrity test, which we’re advocating that NYSC should embrace for corps members.
“As I said, while we do the drug supply reduction, we also do drug demand reduction through preventive measures, as well as counseling and rehabilitation. Now, these are important areas for further collaboration. You have introduced in the camps, the war against drug abuse clubs, which is fantastic.
“One other important area of collaboration is the question of drug integrity tests for youth corps members. It’s a major drug demand reduction effort. The same way we said, if you are getting married, both the bride and the groom, should bring a drug free certificate.
This is due to the fact that it is always preferable to identify drug use at an early stage before it progresses to addiction, which can ultimately lead to psychiatric issues, posing risks both to the individual and to society.
He said another area of collaboration is the posting of a sizeable number of corps members who studied Guidance and Counselling, Psychology, Nursing and Psychiatry to NDLEA Counselling and Treatment Centres across the country as their place of primary assignment during their one-year national service.
He said this will enable the corps members acquire knowledge and experience in rehabilitation and psychosocial services.
The NYSC DG described the drug integrity test as a fantastic idea while he promised to study the NDLEA proposal for possible collaboration. He assured that the scheme will develop a general guideline to post as many corps members with required qualifications to NDLEA Commands with Counselling and Treatment Centres across the country.
While appreciating Marwa for the giant strides NDLEA has recorded under his leadership, he noted the existing partnership between the Agency and the NYSC, which he said his visit was to seek further means to deepen and strengthen the collaboration.
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