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…To protect girl-child from drug abuse, exploitation
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) has called for greater protection of the girl-child against systemic vulnerabilities that push women and youth toward drug abuse and exploitation.
Marwa spoke yesterday in Kaduna at the public presentation of a book, “In The Shadow of the Neem Tree,” written by his daughter, Barrister Mariam Marwa-Abdu.
He said protecting the girl-child was central to protecting the family and, by extension, the nation, and stressed that the task could not be left to government and non-governmental organisations alone but required the involvement of every stakeholder, including traditional institutions.
The NDLEA boss said his position gave him daily insight into how poverty, abuse and lack of education drive women and youth into drug abuse and exploitation, and described advocacy such as his daughter’s as a first line of defence.
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He called for partnership with traditional rulers, citing the Emir of Zazzau as an example of the custodians who could help shift cultural attitudes, and urged that girls be protected, educated and given room to thrive.
Marwa also used the occasion to celebrate his children’s literary achievements, noting that four of his children, all lawyers have now published books between them, a milestone he described as a proud family legacy of using the written word to confront societal problems.
He described the subject of his daughter’s book, the practice of forcing young girls into early marriage as both heartbreaking and urgent.
Using the imagery of the neem tree, a common shade tree in northern communities, he said the book exposes how such traditions can quietly strip girls of their childhood, education, health and potential.
The author, Mariam Marwa-Abdu, founder of the Women and Children’s Rights and Empowerment Foundation (WCREF), said the book reflects a mission she has pursued for over a decade through her organisation, founded in 2011, translating advocacy into direct action for vulnerable girls and women.
The Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, represented at the event by Architect Haruna Abubakar Bamalli, Barden Kerarriyan Zazzau and District Head of Basawa, expressed hope that the book launch would spur both individual and collective action for change.
