Marwa to Religious Leaders: Make Anti-drug Abuse  Messages Constant in Your Sermons

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) has charged religious bodies and other faith-based organisations to make the campaign against drug abuse a constant feature in their sermons and evangelical activities to save millions of Nigerian youths afflicted by the menace of substance abuse and prevent many others from slipping into the scourge.

Marwa, gave the charge when he received a delegation from the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah, JIBWIS, led by its Chairman Sheik Abdullahi Bala Lau, at the agency’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The NDLEA boss, while appreciating the JIBWIBS leadership for their advocacy campaigns against drug abuse through their various platforms, said millions of young Nigerians are already grappling with substance abuse and its consequences, and as such every stakeholder is needed to mobilise preventive measures that will save those not yet afflicted by the scourge.

He said: “I will like to seize this medium to appeal to our religious bodies, the two major faiths and other faith based organisations to join this effort being coordinated by NDLEA and ensure that anti-drug abuse messages feature constantly in their sermons and other evangelical activities.”

He expressed happiness about JIBWIS decision to establish a rehabilitation centre in Kaduna. “We’re glad about your choice of Kaduna because Governor Nasir el-Rufai is passionate about the drug war and has done a lot to transform the state,” he added.

Speaking earlier, Sheik Lau congratulated Marwa for the series of well-deserved recognitions and awards he has been getting due to his outstanding performance in NDLEA.

He said “the entire Muslim Ummahs and bodies in Nigeria appreciate what you are doing. We’re ever ready to support this agency to save our youths from destruction by drugs.”

He expressed the determination of the sect to establish a rehabilitation centre in Kaduna to further support the work of the agency. He added that: “Apart from this, we have more than 9,000 Jummat mosques and 56,000 non-Jummat mosques across the country through which we will continue to preach to our teeming youths to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.”