Christopher Oji
Stakeholders in the war against drugs and human trafficking have said drug abuse is worse than Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Ebola.
The stakeholders who spoke yesterday at an event organised by the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) to mark the World Day against drug and human trafficking, themed, ‘Drugs are Addictive, Escaping is Hard, Don’t Start,’ unanimously agreed that all hands must be on the deck to fight drug abuse and human trafficking.
Human rights activist, Dr. Joe Odumakin, said there was need to declare a state of emergency on drugs and human trafficking as there were not enough hands to deal with their menace in the society.
“Drug abuse is an abnormal use of drug and too much of everything is bad. There is a nexus between drug abuse and human trafficking as the recruitment is sometimes through drug abuse. The government and Nigerians should declare a state of emergency on the killer diseases that kill faster than AIDS and Ebola.
“To overcome drug abuse and human trafficking, one needs to deal with the triggers which sometimes come in form of boredom, depression, loneliness, anger, rejection, anxiety and stress. We also need to talk to ourselves as the root is the heart. We can replace these bad habits with good habits like sports.
“Choose to make difference, no matter the case; be part of the situation. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles,” she said.
Mrs. Helen Onwuzuwike, a Controller of Immigration who represented the Controller -General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, said it has been observed that more people are going into drugs, which breeds crime in the society. Drug abuse leads to suicide which is happening at a high rate in the society. Adult and even children are not left out. We should fight the war against the two killer diseases with our whole hearts and every resources and information available to curtail it.
“We are happy for a seminar like this which aims at spreading the message to curb the menace. We, at the immigration, will also spread the word that drug is not good for us. It’s not good for our children, our parents and members of the society. Drug abuse is killing as so much damage to our society. How do you expect someone to drink sniper or jump into the lagoon if not with the influence of drugs?”
She added that the Federal Government is working towards making the border more secured to control illegal movement of persons, especially those involved in human trafficking.