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One of the greatest challenges that confronts the youth population in the country today is the abuse of drugs and other substances.
Theproblemof drugtraffickingand abuseinthecountryispandemicandat an alarming proportion. The corrosive effect of both the trafficking and consumption in our society today is such thatacosmetic, peripheralorhaphazard approachtofightingthisscourgewould only amount to a waste of time and resources. The fight has to be holistic or systematic, intentional, aggressive and all-encompassing. In order words, our attempts to snatch the lives of millions of ouryouthfromthethroesorclutches of death, must be total.
The level of addiction to all kinds of stimulants is such that everywhere one turns you find substances being abused by teenage boys and girls. There appears to be no let or hindrance any more.
According to reports, over the past few decades, Nigeria has emerged as a major drug trafficking hub. Nigerians, the report also said, are over represented among Africans arrested for transporting drugs across international borders.
In the last decade, Nigeria became a main transit country for cocaine being transported from Latin America to Europe.
They also indicate that Nigeria has become a significant transit hub for drug trafficking, with substances such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines being smuggled through the country.
The transnational nature of this illicit trade is such that with our porous borders and various points of entry, all it takes is for money to exchange hands from these merchants of death and our security officials for these substances to come into the country and be taken out at will.
Before now, the war against illicit drug abuse was at best merely noncommittal. The NDLEA for several years was pretending to be fighting this crime while parading mere couriers and the barons were never arrested.
However, the appointment of one-time governor of Lagos, General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and the commendable massive haul of seizures and arrests, Nigerians were beginning to feel that for the first time, a real fight will be taken to the hideouts and fortresses of these traffickers.
In an interview, Marwa had highlighted the severity of the issue, stating that the porous nature of our borders remains a critical challenge in the fight against drug trafficking. He lamented that the NDLEA’s inability to effectively monitor these extensive borders has made Nigeria a transit point for various illicit substances.
Perhaps, the most celebrated case of drug trafficking under the tenure of Marwa, may be that of the disgraced ex-super cop, Abba Kyari. A serving policeman who, it was exposed, owned assets spread across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Maiduguri in Borno State as well as fat bank accounts.
Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, was a former commander of Intelligence Response Team.
He was suspended from office by the Nigeria Police Service Commission, after he was accused of benefiting from the fraudulent activities of Dubai based Nigerian fraudster, Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi who was arrested in June 2020, and was extradited to the U.S.
It was while Kyari was serving the suspension that he was also caught aiding drug traffickers to bring cocaine into the country by the NDLEA.
He was also linked to illegal importation of N3 billion of tramadol by an alleged drug baron into the country.
To think that Kyari, who probably would not have been caught but because he was on suspension following the uproar that trailed the warrant for his arrest and extradition to the USA, is all there is to the crime is to delude ourselves. There are still several Kyaris in several high places of authority all over the country.
The recent exchange of brickbats by Kwara South Senator, Yisa Ashiru and the NDLEA is to say the least, not just disappointing but a total let down. It’s despicable for want of words.
The NDLEA had hit back at the senator after he accused the agency of being the most corrupt in the country.
Ashiru had on October 15, while contributing to a bill seeking to establish a National Institute for Drug Awareness andRehabilitation, accused theNDLEA as the most corrupt and compromised government agency in Nigeria.
Ashiru added that NDLEA has failed woefully in its mandate.
On its part, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the senator’s comments were borne out of vendetta.
He said the senator wanted the agency scrapped because they discovered during an earlier raid that the senator’s residence in Kwara was being used as a drug joint.
Babafemi added that two of the senator’s aides were arrested during the raid, while one managed to escape.
Ashiru, however, has challenged the NDLEA to prosecute anyone arrested by its operatives in connection with illicit drugs.
Speaking through his Special Assistant, Olaitan Adeyanju, the lawmaker asked the anti-graft agency to go ahead and charge anyone accused of engaging in illicit drugs to court.
The statement said Senator Ashiru had been vocal about the NDLEA’s corruption and compromise, which might be the reason behind these allegations.
The question to be asked is, why did NDLEA not prosecute those allegedly arrested at the house of the Senator?
To be sure, whereas the NDLEA cannot completely rule out corruption within its ranks, however, Senator Ashiru and any fair-minded person cannot pretend not to have noticed the efforts of the NDLEA especially under the leadership of Buba Marwa.
So, the call for the scrapping of the Agency coming from somebody whose aides are alleged to have had a brush with the Agency smacks of mischief and leaves much to be desired.
If the Agency is to be scrapped because of corruption, then all other agencies of government, including the National Assembly, should as well be scrapped because these are the citadels of corruption in the country.
What the agency is currently experiencing, is the effect of failing in its responsibility of not doing what was right at the right time. They simply flunked their responsibilities by not making public their arrest at the time and failing to follow up with prompt prosecution of the suspects.
How is it that the NDLEA made arrest in a house that belongs to Senator Ashiru and yet not arrest the house owner for providing a safe haven for criminals? Or is it still in line with our security operatives tendencies to always dissipate energy chasing small fries alone?
Again, where are the two suspects allegedly arrested in the house of the Senator? Why did the NDLEA wait until after Ashiru’s accusations on the floor of the senate before telling us of a raid and an arrest made in 2023?
As for the Senate, and its leadership led by Senator Godswill Akpabio, its reflexive dismissal of the allegations only points to one thing; an attempt at self-preservation.
Senator Akpabio, speaking after a motion by Ashiru at plenary, dismissed the NDLEA’s claims, describing them as motivated by personal vendetta.
The Senate also constituted a six-member ad hoc committee to probe the allegations.
Akpabio had said, “I personally feel that whatever the NDLEA is doing must be based on your (Ashiru’s) submission here, which pointed out that the issue of integrity among NDLEA officials should be scrutinised, particularly during the debate on the establishment of the rehabilitation centre for drug users.”
Akpabio further criticised the timing of the NDLEA’s accusations.
“If the NDLEA felt you were a drug baron, they should have arrested you before you turned 30. They should have brought it up before you were 50, 60, or even65. Notattheageof 68, justafteryou made contributions on the Senate floor.
“You have never been invited or charged by the NDLEA, and as far as we know in the Senate, you are a gentleman who doesn’t even take alcohol. This is a serious issue, and we must call the NDLEA to order.”
And as though to remove all doubts and to prove that the ad hoc committee was just to fulfill all righteousness and a fait accompli, Akpabio added a clincher when he said, “Injury to one is injury to all.”
Akpabio has unequivocally taken a stand and that is final and nothing contrary is expected from the committee.
Akpabio’s submission simply turns logic on its head. For instance, if a man was not caught for an offence until he is 68 years old does that make him any less complicit or culpable or is it no longer an offence? Does Akpabio not know that one does not need take drugs to trade in them or traffic them? Did Akpabio mean to say that an injury to one suspect is an injury to all suspects?
To have treated the allegations with such scorn and levity shows that the problem may be more deep rooted than meets the ordinary eye.
The NDLEA goofed and should face the consequences of failing to act when it should have. A case of the hunter now being hunted.
