By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has commended MTN for its untiring efforts to ensure a drug free society.

The governor said this on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop in Ilorin, Kwara State on the implementation of the Unplugged Teachers Training on drug prevention in the state organised by MTN in partnership with NDLEA and UNODC.

Represented by his Senior Adviser/Counselor, Alhaji Saadu Salahu, the governor applauded MTN for its interest in a drug- free society, acknowledging the critical role the teachers play in moulding the students who are leaders of tomorrow.

He traced the security challenges confronting the country to drug addiction and
charged teachers to support the state government in making its various interventions in combating drug abuse successful.

The governor also praised the operatives of the state community policing in fighting crime and criminality in the state.

Manager Sales and Trade development of MTN in Kwara area, Chinyere Nkechi in her address disclosed that no fewer than 86,400 public secondary school students and 1,440 teachers in 12 states including Kwara have been targeted for sponsorship education on drugs and impact of substance abuse by the MTN Nigeria.

Chinyere Ikechi, who disclosed noted that the poor and uncertain condition of Nigerian youths compelled MTN Foundation into the initiative.

The MTN representative also listed many efforts by the multinational company to rescue the youths from the abyss hinting that it has discouraged the youths from reliance on banned substances through quiz and competitions in primary and secondary schools.

“We encourage them to participate in our quiz competition; facilitate a stakeholders’ workshop and a 3-day training for 60 secondary school teachers in Kwara and Kaduna; sensitise our communities through outreaches in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC,)” she said.

Speaking further at the jointly sponsored event with the state government, MTN, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA,) Chinyere said the post training activities that would be carried out by the trained teachers through engagement and monitoring towards enabling sustained impact is achieved with the students “who we all expect to be advocates/ambassadors of this initiative,” is what the MTN aims to achieve.

She said the theme: Unplugged Teachers Training on Drug Prevention in Kwara and Kaduna States would through trainings, certainly “pave way for a digital framework to be developed because the need to scale impact on this subject matter is pertinent.”

The representative of the UNODC, Maria Ilugbuhi for her part bemoaned the heavy involvement of African youths in drugs and other banned substances, recalling that one of seven of them indulge in drug abuse with the largest population in the southwest.

She cautioned that unless immediate emergency steps are taken “by 2030, the number would increase by 40 per cent.”

According to her: “one in every seven Nigerian is a drug user,” adding that: “one in every four drug user is a female.”

She however, confirmed that recent survey stressed that “South West Nigeria has the highest number of drug users in the country.

“In a more recent survey of 84,000 youths conducted by UNICEF/UNODC, 50 per cent of them said they personally knew someone who uses drugs.

“So the rate of drug use in the country is high and that by 2030, it is estimated to increase by 40 per cent in Africa.

“These figures underscore the need for comprehensive strategies addressing drug use, including prevention, treatment, and support services,” she noted.

Ilugbuhi identified socioeconomic, cultural, and health-related elements as elements contributing to the menace.

She urged: “If we are going to avert this estimated increase, we must invest heavily in drug prevention.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Special Assistant to the governor on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control, Aileru Olamilekan described the workshop as significant “because it centers on the Unplugged Teachers Training Programme—a globally recognised school-based prevention initiative.

“By equipping our teachers with knowledge, skills, and strategies to educate students about the dangers of drug use, we are investing in prevention rather than cure, in education rather than rehabilitation,” he noted.