We Must Curb Drug & Substance Abuse Now! – Aisha Buhari
MICHAEL AKINOLA
Visibly worried by the alarming rate of drug and substance abuse in the country, which is fast becoming a normal lifestyle among the youth population, the wife of the President, Dr. Mrs. Aisha Buhari, who was represented by Princess Mojisola Tejuoso, the wife of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health in the 8th National Assembly, charged that we must curb drug abuse now or risk not having a positive future in Nigeria.
Princess Tejuoso, who stood in for the wife of the President at the symposium organised by the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPharm) as the Special Guest of Honour, called for urgent steps to be taken towards addressing the issue, else all efforts geared towards a higher political and economic pedestal, may be futile.
The theme of the symposium held at Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday 11th June, 2019, was “Sustainable Approach to Eradication of Drug and Substance Abuse in Nigeria” and the keynote speaker at the event was Dr. Martin Osayande Agwogie, while the Guest of Honour was Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Health Minister in the first term of President Buhari’s administration.
Earlier while addressing the press, the Chairman, NAPharm Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse, Dr. Lolu Ojo, noted that Nigeria had 10.6m users of cannabis, 4.6m users of pharmaceutical opiods, 238,000 amphetamine users, with an overall 14.4 million Nigerians between the ages of 15years and 64 years, depending on one drug or the other.
Still analysing how deep the nation has sunk into drug and substance abuse, he said hardly can one find a canteen on the street that does not mix Indian hemp with its vegetable soup, or a confectionery, where cannabis is not mixed with their cakes for the innocent customers to consume.
“The most amazing set of people involved in these heinous acts are children and women as statistics has it that 1 out of every drug user are a woman, and there are unconfirmed reports that the age of drug use has gone down to seven years or even slightly below, which means that children in primary schools are already involve.
“We wish to sound a note of warning that this challenge may even be much more than the current official estimates at our disposal, and we will request that the nation should be aware of the ‘iceberg phenomenon’, that this subject may present before us. There is practically no major city in Nigeria that does not have hideouts or joints or ram-shackles where the young ones gather to buy or use drugs of different descriptions to feel good”, he stated.
Pharm. Tawa Arilesere, former director of Narcotics NAFDAC; Pharm. (Chief) Yetunde Morohundiya, member, Board of Fellows; Pharm. Clara Anyanwu, deputy director Narcotics, NAFDAC; Sir Ike Onyechi, NAPharm treasurer and managing director, Alpha Pharmacy and Stores; and Pharm.(Mrs.) Modupe Alli, former chairperson, Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPs) Lagos State branch, also lend their voices on the subject.
Dr Ojo, who stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to rid the nation of this menace, said this explained why the Academy put up a symposium to raise awareness on the menace of drug and substance abuse in the country. He said different activities lined up for the programme commenced with a 1000 – man sensitisation awareness walk, on Monday 10 June, from Allen Avenue/Obafemi Awolowo Way Roundabout to Ikeja under the bridge.
The symposium also featured a panel discussion involving the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Pharm. (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa;President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Dr. Francis Faduyile; President, Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) Dr. Taiwo Lateef Sheikh, while Dr (Mrs.) Dere Awosika moderated the discussion.
The President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Pharm. Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, highlighted factors driving drug and substance abuse, which are socio-economic challenges and the presence of open drug markets. He explained that majority of people who use drugs indiscriminately do it to escape from economic and social realities, while open drug markets enhance the circulation of drugs without control.
He said that is why the government is working towards the creation of a legal market, which is the National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) for the circulation of authentic drugs, with pharmacists in charge of the distribution to all drugs to caregivers. The PSN President also identified failure in parenthood as one of the factors allowing the menace to fester, while he called on all parents to wake up to their roles, and cease from franchising the parenting of their children to teachers and Sunday School teachers.
The symposium also an opportunity to make a strong appeal to the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to sign the Pharmacy Bill into law, saying if this is done, it will aid the control of illegal drug circulation in the country.
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