NDLEA Sensitizes Igbologun Community on Drug Abuse and Trafficking

National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA in its quest to rid the society of illicit drug and drug trafficking menace  sensitises Igbologun Community Town, Snake Island, Lagos.

The Area Controller, Tin Can Island Port Command, Comptroller Mohammed Aminu Abubakar said:  "We are here today because of WADA which is a nomenclature for War Against Drug Abuse in our own society.

 "I believed every households and  community will be having one problem or the other with hard drugs in our mist . If it is not addition from using alcohol,  it is an additions from using other foreign drugs and even over the counter drugs like tramadol, panadol and paracetamol and so on.  And by nature when we talk of drug abuse in our own society is about  taking drugs  not in the  normal ways.

"So, right from the inception we realize that  in our own community in other to deal with the situation we must partner with everyone.  And the NDLEA especially the  Tin Can Area Command  considered Snake Island  community very important to our own activities in this place.

Abubakar stated that "I believed all of us as a parent, as a citizens, even as an individual,  we are all concern about  our own well being  and when we talked about the issue of drugs there is an issue which border on all aspects of our own living especially our own kids. 

"In this kind of partnership which we believed is important that we must partner with you, partner with the Baale, his High Chiefs, opinion leaders in our own society and youth group in other to understand the effects of this dangerous menaces in our own society.

"This place as an island is isolated place away from the main community of Lagos State. And from experience we know there are some barons who are running drugs, this is syndicate from Nigeria to Ghana, Ghana back to Nigeria. Don't mistake there benevolence as generosity because the cargo they are holding is dangerous to all of us, it is dangerous to our economy and our physical well being. This is because anybody who is addicted to drugs becomes danger to himself and danger to his own society.  And at the end of the day he becomes useless to everyone.

If not because of lack of light, we would have come with a projector and some videos to show some short films to show what drug is doing to such communities across the world, not only here in Nigeria but across the globe. I know of a documentary done in Mombasa in Kenya recently. Another one done by BBC here in Nigeria, kano in particular concerning the young people who have been rendered useless by the abuse of drugs.

 The Area Commander added that "There are helplines which is a 24 hours none stop all through the week you call call to lay complains. It comes with Hausa, Yoruba and Ibo language to choose from to make it more easy for all to relate with. 

"In essence we are here to sensitize the whole community concerning the dangers of abusing  all these kind of illicit drugs in the society and the country in general, and as well as the people who are bringing the drugs into their own society, that is transiting into their own community. You know we have the issue of people bringing  Indian hemp from Ghana to Nigeria in large quantities.

"And normally because of patrols around the waterways they use community such as this to warehouse their drugs and later on be taking them bit by bit to the main society.

"Also, if there are some people who have started to be experiencing this drugs then they can go for help because the help is already there.

The Community head,  Chief Adam Lateef Oluwo in his response said that Igbologun community is under Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area. 

Chief Adam Lateef said  its a big privilege for the community to have  NDLEA  to sensitize their people on  the side effect of illicit drugs and drug trafficking in its community for the future of their children. 

He said the entire community is ready to support NDLEA in their efforts to rid the society of illicit and drug trafficking menace.

Speaking at the town hall meeting,  Commander,  Operations and Intelligence,  Mallam Ashiru Abdullai, said "This is our fourth time to visit this noble community where we decorated some community members with WADA emblem. That decoration means that you are part of War Against Drug Abuse. You should go to everywhere in the community and support us in sensitizing the community members of WADA.