HARUNA AND WAR AGAINST DRUG ABUSE

The enlistment of the retired general in the battle against drug abuse is heart-warming, writes Chuks Akamadu

It had been with a remarkable sense of relief that I read a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report on August 1, 2021 that quoted the workaholic Chairman/Chief Executive of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as saying that the agency arrested 5000 offenders, prosecuted 3000 and counseled 2,303 victims of drug abuse within five months – January to May.

It was equally refreshing to note that under Gen Marwa’s phenomenal watch, NDLEA has, to its credit, seized more than two million kilogrammes of assorted drugs as well as recovered drugs and cash worth well over N90 billion! Truly where there is a will, there always will be a way.

What this simply means is that whilst it’s not entirely out of place for Nigerians to be alarmed by the growing prevalence of drug abuse and illicit trafficking in and around Nigeria, NDLEA’s commendable leadership in ridding the nation of narcotic and potentially harmful psychotic substances presents prospects of early victory – especially if the current momentum is sustained.

It is against this background that the Centre for Ethical Rebirth Among Nigerian Youths (CERANY), a voluntary organization conceived 19 years ago to be a catalyst for moral reawakening of Nigerian youths is proud to be associated with NDLEA in its renewed commitment to rescuing the nation from the fetters of drug abuse.

In retrospect the CERANY initiative was, after all, not a wasteful venture by very distinguished Nigerians who had stepped forward in 2001 to co-midwife what has become a special purpose vehicle (SPV) today, for the campaign against drug abuse in Nigeria.

Perhaps I should at this point note that by far the single greatest support base we had at inception was late Chief Debo Akande (SAN) who substantially funded our activities and also joined us in the field work. Chief Akande was later joined by Mr. George Eke – a foremost patron and veritable source of inspiration, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, nationalist and doyen of public relations practice in Africa, Chief Bob Ogbuagu (OON), Emeritus Professor Ayo Edwards, Mr. Cyprian C. Udenwa, Prof. C.S Momoh and Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, President, Neimeth Pharmaceutical PLC (as he then was).

By the time we started our “Catch-Them-Young” campaign against drug abuse, more notable Nigerians who we actually considered to be, in their individual rights, beacons of morality like late Prof. Dora Akunyili, Amb. Timloh Butven, Prof. C.K Agomo and Prof. E.O Akanki had actively joined and promoted the efforts of CERANY in combating the scourge of drug abuse among young people of Nigeria.

We had traversed the length and breadth of Lagos State– and beyond, taking part in orientation programmes for freshmen in tertiary institutions and organizing special anti-drug abuse counseling sessions for secondary school students. I recall, with nostalgia, CERANY’s impactful interactions, in 2004, with students of Apata Memorial College Isolo, Atlantic Hall College Maryland, Beautiful Gate and Effortswill Colleges Ejigbo and Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School Ede, in Osun State, to mention just a few.

It had been a most rewarding exercise. For the most part, we dipped our hands into our pocket-money and funds meant for handouts to offset the cost of logistics. We were united in our shared belief that to build a great Nigeria, we needed to jealously guard the moral health as well as physical and mental wellbeing of our youths – to whom the future of Nigeria belongs.

It is therefore an emotional moment for me that on the eve of CERANY’s 20th anniversary, the flame of the anti-drug abuse fire the aforementioned great Nigerians ignited almost two decades ago has forced a retired general to voluntarily quit the “Reserve List” and join the war against drug abuse as an octogenarian, with a pronounced resolve to lead from the frontlines.

It is also interesting to note that this history is being made at a time the NDLEA, our dependable partners-in-progress, has unleashed, for good measure, legitimate terror on all players, active and passive, in the drug abuse and illicit trafficking “value chain”.

We at CERANY are fascinated by the interest shown and support extended to us in our unrelenting campaign against drug abuse by elder statesman, quintessential patriot, soldiers’ soldier, fine officer, gentleman and legal luminary, Maj-Gen IBM Haruna (rtd) OFR; and it is for this reason, his sterling professional accomplishments and the beautiful portrait of decency we see him as, that the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC) of CERANY have formally enlisted him as combatant in the anti-drug abuse army, by bestowing on him the honour of serving as CERANY’s pioneer Grand Patron at the auspicious occasion of his 81st birthday celebration on July 24.

To cap it all, with the official launch of War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 26th, 2021 and in line with our avowed commitment to complementing the commendable efforts of NDLEA and government in the fight against drug abuse, CERANY shall be commemorating its 20th anniversary with an aggressive nationwide campaign against drug abuse to be named and known as “Gen. IBM Haruna Anti-Drug Abuse Nationwide Campaign”.

This honour, to our minds, is well-deserved and should serve as a challenge to other well-meaning Nigerians to appreciate the urgency of the times, make themselves available and play a part in the on-going war against drug abuse – a hydra-headed monster that leaches on the individual, wrecks the family unit and fuels insecurity in the land. Let’s join hands to defeat this scourge that, inter alia, leads to stroke, cancer, damage of blood vessels, cardiovascular and terminal diseases as well as overloads the brain, kidney and other vital organs.

Akamadu, M.IoD is President, Centre for Ethical Rebirth Among Nigerian Youths