The National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Thursday in Uyo sensitised stakeholders in Akwa Ibom to the dangers and consequences of drug abuse in the country.
The Director-General of NOA, Dr Garba Abari, in his remarks at the workshop in Uyo, said that experience had shown that drugs were often associated with virtually all anti-social behaviours bedevilling the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abari was represented by the State Director of NOA, Mr Enoh Uyoh.
He said the period of yuletide was usually laced with increased activities that were not in tandem with core values that promoted the corporate existence of the nation.
He said that incidences of drug abuse among the general public, especially the youth, had become a source of worry to the country.
According to him, nearly all crimes are associated with the use of drugs and should be discouraged by all citizens.
He said that in view of the decline in moral standard across the nation, there was the need to re-awaken the consciousness against such vices in other to nip the looming consequences in the bud.
“As an Agency of Government involved in community mobilisation in its programme implementation, experience has shown that drugs are often associated with virtually all anti-social behaviours bedevilling the country.
“It is the enabler and the trigger which people go into crimes and criminalities such as: thuggery, banditry, political and religious radicalism, kidnapping, violent extremism, armed robbery, vandalism and wanton destruction of government infrastructure,” Abari said.
Abari urged parents not to lose sight of their responsibilities by paying adequate attention to their children upbringing.
He said all hands must be on deck to check drug abuse, stressing that clerics should instill morals to their adherents.
He urged members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicion of drug abuse to law enforcement agencies for prompt action.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the state director of NOA in Akwa Ibom, Uyoh, urged stakeholders to treat drug abuse as a menace that had affected all facets of life.
Uyoh said that drug abuse had been the main cause of insecurity and youth restiveness in the country.
He appealed to stakeholders to take the workshop seriously and disseminate the outcome to their communities and the general public.
NAN reports that goodwill messages were received from the police command in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). (NAN)
