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By Purity Franscis
The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has warned that drug abuse and mental illness reinforce each other, stressing that tackling substance abuse without addressing its underlying causes will continue to undermine efforts to combat the menace.
“If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” Marwa said, calling for increased investment in mental healthcare, accessible treatment and community-based interventions to address the root causes of substance abuse.
He spoke yesterday while chairing the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by the Intersect Consortium, led by UK-based Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Vincent Udenze, at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
Marwa, who also chaired the inaugural edition of the conference in 2022 and its third edition, said the gathering had grown into one of Nigeria’s largest platforms for discussions on mental health.
He noted that the conference, held days after World Mental Health Day, provided an opportunity to move beyond awareness campaigns to concrete actions that would improve access to mental healthcare and strengthen support systems for vulnerable Nigerians.
According to him, many cases of drug abuse handled at NDLEA rehabilitation facilities are rooted in untreated psychological distress, trauma, depression and other mental health challenges that often go unnoticed.
“For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hidden behind shame and silence. In my work at the NDLEA, I see the cost of that silence daily.
“Behind many cases of drug abuse is untreated pain: depression nobody noticed, trauma nobody addressed, a young person who found a substance before finding help. Drug use and mental illness feed each other. If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he said.
Speaking on the conference theme, which focused on strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action, the NDLEA chairman said mental wellbeing could not flourish in an environment where poverty, hopelessness and lack of economic opportunities pushed people towards harmful behaviours.
He cited the agency’s intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where residents who previously depended on illicit cultivation were supported to develop legitimate sources of livelihood.
According to him, the initiative was designed to provide sustainable economic alternatives for affected families, reduce their dependence on illicit activities and strengthen community resilience.
“Your theme speaks of strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action. At the NDLEA, these are not abstract ideas. They are things we have done.
“Mental wellbeing cannot thrive where hopelessness and poverty drive people into harm. In three pilot communities in Ondo State, we worked with the people themselves to build legitimate livelihoods, so that families who once depended on illicit cultivation could earn a dignified, lawful income.
“When people have hope, income and a stake in their future, stress eases, families stabilise and communities grow resilient. These were solutions designed with communities, not imposed on them. We intend to scale this model across the country and invite our partners to walk that road with us,” he said.
Marwa also highlighted the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which targets young people in schools, tertiary institutions and communities through sensitisation and prevention programmes.
He said the NDLEA’s 24-hour toll-free helpline provides an avenue for people battling substance abuse and their families to seek assistance, regardless of the time of day.
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According to him, the service ensures that people in distress can access support without the financial burden that often discourages them from seeking help.
The NDLEA boss disclosed that more than 53,843 people had passed through the agency’s 31 rehabilitation facilities across the country in the last five years.
“Behind that number are fathers returned to their families and young people returned to school and work,” he said.
Marwa called for increased government funding for mental healthcare, warning that mental health services must no longer be relegated to the margins of national health budgets.
He argued that investments in prevention, professional training and accessible treatment would yield significant benefits in productivity, family stability and public safety.
He called for the recruitment and training of more psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and community health workers, while urging the integration of mental health services into primary healthcare facilities across the country.
He said such integration would reduce the burden on patients who travel long distances to access mental health services and ensure that help was available within their communities.
The NDLEA chairman also advocated equitable financing of mental healthcare, stressing that access to treatment should not depend on an individual’s financial standing.
“Care that only the well-off can afford is not a system, it is a privilege,” he said.
Commending the conference organisers for placing women and children at the centre of discussions, Marwa said vulnerable groups, including survivors of violence, displaced mothers, girls without adequate support, persons living with disabilities and families displaced by conflict, were often overlooked in mental health interventions.
He said the NDLEA’s experience had shown that recovery was more sustainable when support extended beyond the individual to include mothers, children and other members of the household.
Marwa further stressed the need for stronger collaboration among the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors, noting that no single institution could effectively address the complex challenges associated with mental illness and substance abuse.
He thanked Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was represented at the conference by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia as Special Guest of Honour, for his support, which he said demonstrated the importance attached to mental health as a national priority.
The NDLEA chairman urged participants to translate the discussions into measurable commitments by increasing funding for effective interventions, expanding successful community-based programmes and ensuring that women, children and other vulnerable groups received priority attention.
He also called for accountability among stakeholders to ensure that resources committed to mental healthcare produced tangible results.
“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” Marwa added.
