…we must kick out illicit drug distributors – NDLEA 

By Ike Uchechukwu, CALABAR 

The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) Jokaina Deck,  has launched the “Back to School” initiative, a nationwide advocacy and humanitarian campaign addressing drug abuse and homelessness among street children in Nigeria.

The NAS Street Child Project  program fosters collaborative action across Nigeria and abroad.

The campaign aims to rehabilitate and reintegrate vulnerable children through education and support, combating the scourge of substance abuse and homelessness. 

This impactful initiative, driven by compassion and collective responsibility, seeks to transform lives and restore hope for Nigeria’s street children, ensuring a brighter future.

Speaking with Journalists during the campaign walk in Calabar, President of Jokaina Deck, NAS , Mr Lawrence Achuta said it is important  that no child should  be left behind as far as education  is concerned.

“When children are left unattended to , they become a nuisance in the society,  and one of the vices for  out of school children is taking to use of illicit drugs .

“We must give these children a voice because  they have a right to education. If we don’t take care of them now that they are young they will end up becoming  a huge menace to our society,  and by that time it will be too late to handle .

“So, iIt’s best for us as an Association and the society  at large to contribute our quota  by ensuring that we support them to remain in school and get proper education.

“We are out to enlighten them( street kids) on the need to be educated so that they are becoming responsible  members of the society  that will also contribute to the growth and development  of our nation as they grow ,” Achuta said.

On his part former Cross River State Coordinator , NAS, Engr Solomon Olurunfemi maintained that every child must be educated whether they are in a home or anywhere.

He added that an untrained child left on the street today won’t allow the trained ones to have peace in the future .

Olorunfemi said it was imperative for children to be taken off the street as soon as possible  noting that everything must not be left for the government  alone even though the bulk falls on their table.

“We are not taking over the responsibility of the government,  we are only supporting them,  because they might look like isolated cases  today, it won’t be so in the future when they become purveyors of social vices.

“We all must  contribute by ensuring they are taken off our streets and properly educated,” he appealed.

In his remark, Chief Superintendent of Narcotics, CSN Kabiru Abdulahi of the NDLEA Cross River state Command  noted that as an agency they have been doing their best in trying to sanitize the society by ensuring peddlers and barons alike are kicked  out of communities.

“These young people must understand  that  hard drugs destroy life, it shatters careers and destroys destiny, if you are on any hard drug , it is not enjoyment,  neither are you helping yourself , you are killing yourself gradually, ” he said.

He appealed that more organisations must carry out awareness  campaigns  like NAS to nip the menace of drug abuse in the bud.

He noted that their operations span across all the  18 LGAs in the state as they  try as much as possible to deal with those behind the distribution and destroy their sources, noting  that all hands must be on deck in the fight against the hydra-headed problem called drug abuse.