The War against Drugs: NDLEA Reborn?

Achike Chude

He was picked as the military administrator of perhaps, the most important, most politically volatile and tempestous state in the country. To say that the political environment in Nigeria in 1993 was toxic would be a great understatement. In fact, the culmination of eight years of political gimmickry and ‘maradonic’ maneuvering of the seemingly endless transition program by the Babangida administration had ended up putting the country in a cul-de-sac: The Nigerian ship of state had been run aground, and the subsequent crisis that was generated by the annulment of the then adjudged freest and fairest election in the history of the country by General Ibrahim Babangida was generating fierce ripples both home and abroad.

The response from within the country was the formation of home grown resistance movements of civil society who drew the battle line against the military dictatorship. The campaign for democracy, led by great Nigerian patriots led the way, while NADECO, made up of politicians and some elites followed suit.

The foreign component of the opposition was being marshalled by foreign governments led by the United States, Britain, France, etc., who all agreed that Nigeria be designated a pariah state for anti-democratic activities and state repression of her citizens. The government of Sani Abacha that had inherited the political turmoil of the June 12, 1993 annulment and was responsible for the overthrow of the three-month-old Shonekan government contraption naturally found itself in a cauldron of political intrigues and instability. At the heart of the national political crisis was the city of Lagos, home to the greatest concentration of urban city dwellers in the continent of Africa.

Not only was the city of Lagos, reeling from the fallout of the political quagmire brought about by the Babangida administration, Lagos had a very serious issue with crime, especially of the violent type. Carjacking, bank robberies, and home invasions by armed robbers were a common occurrence. Other associated problems were in the areas of transportation, healthcare infrastructure and housing, etc. In the search for a military administrator for Lagos, Abacha obviously understood that he needed the right kind of a point man in the state to give his administration some needed respite through good governance, and to probably attenuate the negative impact of his dictatorship.

Enter Brigadier Buba Marwa, who was appointed administrator of Lagos state in 1996 – 1999. His deeds and works as military administrator of Lagos state at a most iconic period in Nigeria’s socioeconomic development are now a matter of history. But suffice to say that the flurry of activities by his civilian successors to efface, wipe out or reduce the impact of his accomplishments in the state is a testimony and acknowledgment of the tremendous achievements and successes of his three-year stint as governor of Lagos state. That he touched in fundamental ways, the lives of the citizens is not a matter for debate. Perhaps, one of his biggest achievements which was accomplished in record time was in the area of security. Carjacking and armed robbery which had grown exponentially in the state was brought down to the barest minimum. As a result, nightlife activities, a major mainstay of Lagos life, gradually returned and people found renewed comfort sleeping with their eyes closed at night. Healthcare infrastructure in the state began to take a turn for the better as new vigor was brought to bear in the sector.

In housing, the Abiola Garden at Alausa is testimony to the very modest impact he made in the area of housing. Perhaps, it is evidence of the impact he made in that area that Lagosians have stubbornly stuck to calling the housing estate ‘Marwa Gardens’ rather than the name change by politicians that were too eager not to give a man the credit that was due him. In transportation, the ever ubiquitous ‘Keke Marwa’ in the state is also a testament to the indelible marks he made in Lagos state. But he had his detractors in the workers of the Lagos civil service led by the great, late Ayodele Akele who battled the government severally for improved workers welfare.

But perhaps of monumental importance in explaining the Marwa Lagos ‘phenomenon’ was the fact that though he was beholding to a military head of state who was being confronted by a critical segment of the civilian populace, the military administrator of Lagos state somehow had a way of staying above the fray. While his principal was receiving the opprobrium of Nigerians, especially the elites, the reaction to the Buba Marwa personality was different and accepting.

When he was appointed Chairman of the NDLEA a few months ago by the present administration, the question over the appointment was not about his ability or motivation to perform, but whether the twenty-two years hiatus away from high stakes public office would have mellowed him in zeal and slowed him down in action. In a way, the outcome of the activities by the NDLEA in the last few weeks would seem to have answered the questions:

The results of the first five months of this year gives cause for great optimism and is suggestive of a greatly renewed vigor in the battle against illicit drugs: over 5, 000 arrests have been made, over 3,000 people charged to court with more than 500 convictions. In the same period, 2,772 individuals were counselled and treated for drug-related problems.

Chude, a writer, newspaper contributor and public affairs commentator lives in Lagos

More than two million kilograms of assorted drugs were seized and over N90bn worth of drugs and cash recovered. It has also been reported that the NDLEA is also working to establish testing and rehabilitation centers all over the country that will be fairly affordable, following the tremendous costs incurred in the treatment of drug dependent individuals in private and public health institutions.

The above statistics of drug related activities by cartels are alarming and signpost a clear and present danger of the existential threat to the future of the young generation, and the wellbeing of the Nigerian nation state. Naturally, the rising trade in illicit drugs in Nigeria and their consumption by a growing population, including the elites, have been made possible by the decline in the performance of the NDLEA. Obviously, the failure of the body in the past few years would have emboldened drug barons and couriers at the various entry and exit points in the country and increased their capacity for spectacular successes in safe delivery of their lethal substances to their designated points of transaction.

The statistics on intervention by the NDLEA above is an indication of new life being breathed into the organization. There is no doubt that this renewal of efforts to combat the drug situation in Nigeria and the outstanding success thus far, can only be due to the change of guards at the very top. What is happening now is reminiscent of the heydays of the NDLEA, then under the leadership of Police Commissioner Fidelis Oyakhilome who was quite outstanding in his commitment and successes in his given assignment. But suffice to say, his fall from grace was traceable to his ill-thought-out action of mixing socially with the wrong crowd with connections to the drug trade. It was a case of running with the foxes and hunting with the hounds – a highly deleterious and dangerous gambit to a well-established reputation. Since then, the organization has floundered and operated in fits and starts. UNTIL NOW.

Hopefully, the recent successes of the NDLEA are indicative that the ongoing resolve to genuinely tackle the drug scourge will be continually strengthened and renewed through constant training of officers, injection of funds into the organization, good remuneration packages to personnel as well as other institutional enhancing mechanisms.

The new chairman, Brigadier Buba Marwa is certainly making a difference. But he must be guided by the fact that in life, pitfalls are part of our human existence. He must do well to avoid them.

The NDLEA is indeed reborn.

Chude, a writer, newspaper contributor and public affairs commentator lives in Lagos