National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Lagos Command, on Friday, said that the fight against drug abuse would require collaborative efforts in bringing up responsible children.
Mrs Titilayo Ogunluyi, an Assistant Commander of Narcotics, Principal Staff Officer, Drug Demand Reduction, NDLEA, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ogunluyi spoke on the sidelines of the 9th Town Hall Meeting, held simultaneously in all 40 constituencies in the state.
NAN also reports that the meeting had, as its theme: “Increasing Wave of Drug Abuse: A Threat to Nation Building.
“In the past, we were brought up in communities, with parents inculcating good values in children of others within the community.
“Presently however, everyone takes care of his/her own children. It is important that we go back to those days of communal living so that other people in the society can look out for our wards and help them.
“When we do the needful, our nation will be heaven on earth. All the stakeholders, including the media, must play their role so as to help reduce the problem drastically,’’ she said.
According to her, the statistics of drug abuse globally, Nigeria inclusive, are so alarming.
Ogunluyi said that a report funded by European Union in 2018 showed that about 14.3 million Nigerians were into drug abuse.
She quoted the report as showing that out of every four persons who are into drug abuse, there is a female, adding that this was an indication that parents had failed in their responsibilities.
“The challenges of drug abuse are numerous. First, parents do not have time for their children. This is bad parenting. Another thing is peer pressure.
“When you fail to inculcate the right morals into the children, others will do it in a negative way,” she said.
Ogunluyi urged teachers to take up the responsibility of impacting coping mechanisms in children to enable them overcome social vices.
“Also, parents should know the number of children they can train. If it is only one child you can train, then plan for one child, instead of having so many of them that you cannot train,” she said. (NAN)
