NALDA Enrols Rehabilitated Drug Addicts, Others in Livestock Farming in Kano

The National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA) has enrolled 500 rehabilitated drug addicts in its livestock programme in Kano State.

NALDA’s Executive Secretary/Chief Executive, Prince Paul Ikonne, said under the programme,100 women got three goats each while 200 youths got one cow for two persons,  adding that they will also undergo training in animal husbandry and financial management to enhance their ability to manage the business.

The empowerment programme is in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Salamah Youth Empowerment and Enlightenment Initiative.

Over 300 beneficiaries were presented with cattle at a ceremony at the Central Abattoir, Kofarmazugal, Kano.

Ikonne, further assured that the first phase of the exercise would be completed in later in March with a total of 500 rehabilitated men and women expected to be empowered.

The development came a critical time when the menace of drug abuse is on the rise among youths in the country.

The empowerment initiative is part of the NALDA integrated farms estates project currently being established across the six geo-political zones to among other things, revive the rural economy, empower youths through agriculture and well as enhance the diversification agenda of the present administration.

Ikonne said, “An organisation that has been rehabilitating children from drug is organising them for empowerment. If they are left without empowerment, they would go back to drug taking. And it is President Muhammadu Buhari’s interest to ensure that we reduce drug addiction and create employment in the country.

“So, this is a way of keeping them out of drug and engaging them meaningfully. We have empowered the first 300, the remaining 200 will be done soon in the first phase in Kano by March. This will be done in different states, and we want to encourage other organisations to reach out to these drug addicts in order to rehabilitate them and NALDA will engage them in meaningful means of income through agricultural value chains.”

Shedding more light on the initiative, the NALDA boss said,

 “In the next three months, they would have sold the cows and the money put in the pool, and another set of cows will be given to them – so the profit goes to them and the capital is re-invested.  That is why, doing it in a cluster with an organisation is the best.

“Now this is done in an abattoir, and inside the abattoir, they have an association, then supervised by these organisations, so it makes it easier for us to monitor. As they keep evolving the fund, it makes it easier for us to empower more people. And encourage more people not to go into drugs.

 “But for the women given goats, will rear them between six months to one year depending on the size of the goat but our key interest is on those that have been rehabilitated, that is the youths from the abattoir, they are the ones we are looking at three months.”

However, NDLEA Commandant in Kano, Alhaji Isah Mahammed, commended NALDA for the initiative meant to cure youth idleness which is one of the major causes of drug abuse.

He said, “Anybody that does not have a source of income will certainly look for something that would make him forget his lack of vocation and most times, they turn to drugs. This initiative by NALDA with the support of the president and the Salamah Foundation, that has seen youths being given means of livelihood – the focus will now be on the means of survival given to them.”

Also, the initiator of Salamah Youth Empowerment and Enlightenment Initiative, Senator Naja’tu Bala Muhammed, representing Kano Central Senatorial District, while commending NALDA’s intervention, said it remained the best any government parastatal had done in the state.

She said, “I have spoken a lot against this government of President Buhari but I realise that there is the need for me to also start the change I crave for. Then I initiated this programme with the NDLEA to rehabilitate our youth who were drug addicts, but we realized that if we must give them hope, we must show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel by meaningfully engaging them.”