Founder/President, Silec Initiatives and Youth and Anti-drug advocate, Ambassador Sunny Irakpo, has expressed worry at the top position Nigeria is occupying in cocaine merchanise, saying it is a time bomb waiting to explode.
Irakpo made his position known in a paper he delivered, and made available to The Boss as follows
“In the midst of the pre-election and post-election fever that has engulfed the country in the past 6 months, Nigeria has found herself in the news again, this time on the wrong reason. As people are trying to come to terms with the tensed political atmosphere in the land, news filtered in last week from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that our beloved country is now at the zenith of cocaine smuggling countries in Africa.
“It is so vivid that Nigerians are caught up in a wedlock of mixed emotions after the Presidential, National Assembly, Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly polls that took place all across the nation in February and March. The impacts of the elections outcome are resonating in all parts of the country. Some are basking in the euphoria of the results, some are wailing, disappointed and frustrated, while some are indifferent.
“Almost all government’s ministries, departments and agencies went to sleep in the heat of the politicking, hence a lot were happening and governance was on stand still. All attentions were channeled towards the polls. The report by the UNODC is quite worrisome and it is a testament that we need to do more in our quest to combat drug abuse as a nation.
“SILEC Initiatives as usual, was active and highly vociferous throughout the elections period. Prior to the general elections, we carried out series of campaigns such as Vote Without Drugs to educate Nigerians via the media and event targeted especially to the youths on the need to exercise their franchise and to desist from hard drugs consumption.(Conventional and Unconventional Drugs).
“One major reasons why youths consume hard drugs is bad governance and It is a non-debatable fact. As an NGO, we understand the plights of the average Nigerian youths on the streets. We understand the economic mess and hardship that we find ourselves and the devastating effects it has on all of us. Due to these apparent challenges, some of our promising and talented youths have resorted to hard drugs and substances as a panacea to their economic conditions.
“They just want to get ‘high’ and forget about the economic hardship in the country and the troubles of life. On daily basis, Nigerian youths are experimenting different types of drugs, this is doomed to us a country.
“It is so disheartening that we are not doing enough as a nation to tame this ugly trend that is growing rapidly. It is really shameful that most of our institutions are now compromising. Some families have come to accept the culture of hard drugs consumption amongst their wards, some schools do not have tough laws to deal with the trend of hard drugs usage, probably due to the level of peer group influence and it’s toxicity that exists in our post-primary and tertiary institutions. Some innocent and vulnerable youths from good moral backgrounds have been lured into hard drugs via experimentation which has consequently led to addiction. A three generation disease., Manageable but not securable.
“Due to the advancement of science and technology in recent years, drug traffickers now find it easy to network with their counterparts all over the world, especially cult groups which has also fuelled organized crimes in Nigeria and across the continent.
“This report by the UNODC published on the cable channel is quite disturbing to SILEC Initiatives as a pragmatic organization, because as one of the leading NGOs in the war against drugs abuse in Nigeria to support the efforts of the NDLEA, we have secured partnership deals with WorldChicago and other multinational and national corporations to better the lives of Nigerian youths through education, cultural exchange, leadership, nation and capacity building endeavour.
“The fact remain that , Nigerian youths are precious to us. They are the strength of our nation, they are the energy that the nation needs, they are the pillars that will sustain this nation in the next generation, hence their growth and development is so sacrosanct to us.
“The report from the UNODC states that during 2018 – 2021, trafficking of cocaine was reported from Nigeria to 20 countries. What does this data tell us? It shows that we have to work in the psyche of our productive youths to engage in legitimate economic activities. It shows that the government has to tighten security in our airports, seaports and land borders. The government needs to tackle every form of compromise from our security agencies like Customs, Immigration, Police e.t.c
Some of the countries that Nigerians traffic cocaine to according to the UNODC report are sub-saharan African countries like; Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Ethiopia, Algeria and some countries in Asia pacific region; Saudi Arabia, India, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the United Arabs Emirates e.t.c
“Is has been proven beyond all reasonable doubts that cocaine and other hard drugs arrive into the country through a variety of ways in our airports, seaports and land borders. The report has it that Brazil is the biggest exporter of cocaine to Nigeria. This revelation is troubling and we are calling on the government and other relevant agencies like National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to sit tight and deal with this growing trend. Cocaine is injurious and dangerous to human health when taken.Its effects are both physical and psychological. Over 90% of cocaine consumers in Nigeria take the drugs based on self medication.
“Morocco comes second on the list of African countries with the biggest market for cocaine. The United Nations has warned that the potential for the cocaine market to expand in Africa is a ‘dangerous reality’ and urge governments to closely examine the report findings and determine how the threats can be met with solutions. As it is our custom, SILEC Initiatives will be at the forefront to play key roles in partnering with the NDLEA and other agencies to address this new report and to find lasting solutions to the growth of the cocaine merchandise in Nigeria.
“On a very commendable ground, We want to give kudos to the Chairman/CEO NDLEA Bridg. Gen. Buba Marwa’ (Retd) ,CON,OON and all his gallant men for the capacity demonstrated in the last 2years particularly for seizing 1.8 tonnes of cocaine which worths N194b in September 2022 in Lagos ,the largest seizure in history. We urgently call on all well meaning Nigerians, corporate organizations and philanthropists not to pay a deaf ears to this issue of drugs threatening our existence. As it is today, no one is safe.
“Silec Initiatives will continue to consolidate on our work with the Nation, narcotics agency (NDLEA) even as we anticipate a new government from May 29th, 2023 to build the NIGERIA of our dreams.”
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