Adaeze Emmanuella Ezissi, an anti- drug abuse campaigner has urged Nigerian youths to shun drug abuse and the violent life it leads to for the sake of their health, wellbeing and future, and for the sake of the country.
In a press statement she issued in Abuja Ms Ezissi who is currently putting finishing touches to her book on Combating Drug Abuse Among the Youth charged Nigerian youths to remember the link between drug abuse, political violence, criminal lifestyle and all manners of insecurities, including terrorism, banditry and kidnapping. In her view, “the well established connection between drug abuse and political thuggery and criminal conducts is enough warning for youths to toe the path of decency and engage in acceptable social behavior and attitudes. This is because if you fall victim to drug abuse not only will your life be totally ruined, you will also be a disgrace to your family and an embarrassment to the nation”.
Ms Ezissi who is also the Chairman of the local organizing committee of an upcoming Summit on Drug Abuse put together by CERANY which is headed by Barr Chuks Aka-Madu, lamented that Nigeria may soon have a wasted and lost generation of drug addicts if all hands are not on deck to stem this evil scourge.
While commending the Federal government in its bold and ambitious anti- drug abuse initiatives and the NDLEA for its innovative and proactive war against drug abuse and trafficking, she still believes that a lot more still need to be done. She thus called upon all stakeholders and indeed every Nigerian to join the campaign against drug abuse because it is everybody’s war and not that of the government alone.
To this end she emphasized that attention should be focused on “reaching out to very young children who are not yet exposed to drug abuse, mounting an aggressive public enlightenment campaign on the evil effects and consequences of drug abuse, counseling of vulnerable entities and those who are already drug dependent, and mapping out strategies for the treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration of those weaned out of drug abuse into society’s mainstream”.