Stakeholders in the education sector have been urged to put hands on deck towards curbing drug abuse in tertiary institutions in the country.
The Director General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, Dr. Mansur Liman made the call at a one day public lecture on drug abuse and immorality in tertiary institutions, in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.
The lecture was organized by the Youth and Civil Society Coalition for Development in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, and the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA.
Dr. Mansur Liman, represented by the zonal director, kaduna National Station, Mallam Buhari Auwalu noted that the fight against drug abuse was a collective responsibility of institutions in the society.
He appealed to parents, religious bodies, the traditional institution and government at all levels to work towards reversing the recent statistics on prevalence of drug abuse released by the national drug law enforcement agency, NDLEA.
The DG said youth being the leaders of tomorrow should be given proper orientation to avoid drug and substance abuse which could jeopardize their future.
Dr Mansur Liman commended the organisers of the lecture for efforts in sensitizing stakeholders on various roles in fighting drug abuse that become more prevalent among youths in recent years.
In a remark, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Dr Kashifu Inuwa represented by the Director Cyber Security, Dr Lawan Ahmed, stressed the need for parents to be alive to their responsibility of proper child upbringing, as drug abuse and moral decade among youths mostly starts from home.
While highlighting the health hazards of drug abuse, Dr. Kashifu called for more efforts by relevant agencies to rescue youths from drug abuse and its many ills.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, also represented by the Assistant state Commander Drugs Demand Reduction, Abubakar Alhaji urged the government at all levels to find alternative business ventures for the repentant drug peddlers to reduce crime in the society.
Convener of the public lecture and the National President Youth and Civil Society Coalition for Development Comrade Aminu Aminu called on government and private organizations to support the continuous campaign against drug abuse in tertiary institutions.
The lecture was attended by students of tertiary institutions across the Northwest zone of the country.
USMAN MZ“