indicts past administration
From Debra Ajulo, Ilorin
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Kwara State Command has lamented the alarming rate of drug abuse in the state.
The State Commander, Mr. Ambrose Umoru made this disclosure in an interview with journalists on Wednesday in his office.
The commander, who recently assumed duty in the state, lamented that although the state is peaceful and the people accommodating there is a drug problem in the state.
He disclosed that an international research finding has singled out Kwara in the North central zone as a state that ranks highest in the abuse of various types of illicit drugs
In his words, “I want to say that just like any other part of the country or anywhere we have huge population of people there are bound to be problems of crime and criminality and drug problem cannot be ruled out. So having received some briefings since I assumed duty here and from some of the investigations carried out in the short period I have been here I want to say that drug problem is here. We cannot shy away from that, it is here.
“It is evidence based statement that I am making here. Only last year, the United Nations office on drugs and crime in Nigeria conducted a research, the result of the research came out early part of this year.
“The result clearly shows that in the North central zone of Nigeria, Kwara records 13.0% of prevalence of drug use. The least was Benue with 8.0% but Kwara tops.”
On the probable cause of the prevalence, Umoru explained that available records show that lack of assistance from major stakeholders most especially the state government. “From records I don’t think the past administration in Kwara state really paid good attention to the issue of drugs in the state and that is why we are where we are today,” he said.
He, however, expressed optimism that with the new government in the state, a drastic change in drug abuse situation will take place. He expressed confidence in the strength of the synergy between the traditional institution, security personnel, government and other major stakeholders.
“We are lucky now that we have a new administration, a new government that the people of Kwara have embraced. I want to believe that the new governor wants everything good for his people in Kwara and wants to develop this state and of course he wants to deal with the issue of crime and criminality.
“When we talk of developing the state or developing any human capital it cannot happen unless the place is sanitize,” he emphasized.
