Kano, Kaduna, Lead States with Cases of Drugs Abuse, Ex-NDLEA Boss Reveals

• Says 7 in 10 boys on the street are constantly on drugs

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

It has emerged that Kano State, closely followed by Kaduna, Katsina, Borno and more recently, Niger State are amongst States in the North with highest cases and constant abuse of drugs in the country.

This was disclosed by the former Director General, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Otunba Olanrewaju Ipinmisho, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY on Saturday.

Ipinmisho hinted that the upsurge in substance abuse in Kano and Kaduna States particularly, was very frightening and if not quickly tackled may go out of control.

According to him, “If you take an estimate of 10 boys particularly in Kano, seven will be on drugs. How then do we ascertain peace in such a place? That is why the Governor will labour and see no result because the average teenager there is on drug.

“This case is very frightening because, the boy taking drug at home is as dangerous as the armed robber in the night. That is a murderer in waiting. And anyone who attempts to stop him should be ready to die because, he can kill to get his way.”

He explained that troubles in these areas could easily spread to other parts of the North, and Kaduna, being close to Abuja is dangerous. And again, “Abuja is not an exemption because places like Wuse II, especially Banex Junction, is a spot the FCT Police Command should do something about,” says Ipinmisho.

Continuing, he said: “In Nigeria, it is very frightening; go to political rallies today and see what drugs are doing to the youth of this country. Particularly in the North, they have a lot to worry about when it comes to drugs. Openly, you will see young boys and girls inhaling and sniffing substances like fuel, solution, over abusing drugs meant for other purposes, like tramor, coding totaling, smoking marijuana in the street without care or fear of being arrested.

“More recently, Shisha which they called apple flavours. Even parents are blind-folded. Most parents think they are sponsoring their wards to abroad to school and never care about drugs in their lives. They should be more worried because, their kids may be lured into drugs due to peer pressure.”

The former NDLEA DG frowned on what he described as government’s disregard for human capacity development which he said has been overshadowed by physical development.

“Actually, they see construction of roads and erecting new structures and building bridges as more important. Though, they ought to do this but, more emphasis should be laid on human development because, structures mean nothing without human element.

“Their concern is that, when election comes, they use these guys and of course, you can’t use normal human being to do the kind of job they want but never remember that they won’t be in government forever.”

Ipinmisho stressed the need for urgent action to taken by the federal and State governments to arrest what he described as the ‘impending doom’ awaiting in those areas mentioned. “My concern and worry is that the governors of these places don’t seem to understand the ravaging issues on ground”, he added.