Waging War against Drug Abuse in Katsina
Wife of the Katsina State Governor, Dr. Hadiza Bello Masari is tackling the prevailing rate of drug addiction among youths and married women in the state, writes Francis Sardauna
The wave of drug addiction that is pervading Nigeria, with dominance mostly in the North and some parts of the West has tipped the nation into a boiling conundrum. The reason is not far-fetched. Recent discreet investigation by THISDAY has revealed that married women, youths and students in Katsina State often abuse cough syrups, Indian hemp and off-the-counter drugs like rophynol, tramadol, diazepam and lexotan, which are controlled drugs that should only be sold after a doctor’s prescription.
The consequences of this menace in the state have been terrible as findings revealed that drug abuse has led to the prevailing cases of banditry, kidnapping, unwanted pregnancies, adultery, and burglary as well as broken homes in the state.
This age-long predicament has also burgeoned into a critical economic, social and physiological crisis, which if unchecked, portends grave danger to the society at large.
Consequently, the menace has become the concern of all and sundry because the victims and traffickers of drugs live in the society as neighbours, children, friends, students, siblings and spouses or even parents. Today, the disturbing global phenomenon to which no nation is immune, has spread to many homes as even married women get increasingly involved in illicit drugs and substance abuse.
Miffed by this scenario, Wife of the Katsina State Governor, Dr. Hadiza Bello Masari, is out to deal with the drug scourge and bring other stakeholders on board, to collectively face the challenge of drug abuse head-on through her pet project, "Centre for the Advancement of Mothers and Children".
Thus, she built a benefiting state-of-theart centre in Funtua Local Government Area of the state for the rehabilitation and reformation of drug addicts and offenders.
The centre, which is located in Funtua town, the headquartres of Funtua Local Government, was inaugurated in December 2019 with the sole aim of provide counselling, rehabilitation and treatment to drug users in order to stem the tide of drug addiction among youths, particularly students, young girls and married women in the state.
The centre is fully equipped with facilities, caregivers and psychologists to aid victims' quick rehabilitation and provide counseling for them to easily reintegrate into the society and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic swell being of the society. The centre also focuses on patient detoxification and rehabilitation for drug and alcohol dependents by assessing their physical and mental health, detoxification and rehabilitation which include counselling, educative activities, occupational training and social reintegration.
Since its inception, the centre has embarked on numerous humanitarian activities which includes; community sensitisation against drug abuse, trained 33 people across the 11 local government areas in Funtua zone as community drug advisory and counseling workers, schools campaign programme against drug abuse that covers all secondary schools in the zone and partnered the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) on public sensitisation programmes.
These, among other notable humanitarian services that included media advocacy and mass mobilisation campaigns in nooks and crannies of the state, had drastically reduced the menace of drug abuse. Accordingly, from 2019 to date, the centre has succesfully provided free counselling for more than 7,000
youths, students and married women in the state with a view to stemming the challenge.
Mrs Masari, through her Nongovernmental Organisation (NGO), is also partnering traditional rulers, teachers, community and religious leaders to help sensitise families, associates and friends of the victims to dissuade them from further abuse so as to quicken the process of reducing stigma associated with drug abuse and other related crimes afflicting residents of the state.
Consequently, the governor's wife is determined to ward off trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs in all parts of the state. Infact, she is not only concerned about total rehabilitation of victims of drug abuse, but also reducing stigmatisation to foster fast recovery of all affected persons, particularly rural dwellers across the state, hence her unflinching support at all times.
Meanwhile, in commemoration of this year's (2021) International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Dr. Hadiza, flanked by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of her NGO who is also the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar, visited Funtua Correctional Centre where she distributed bags of rice, maize, millet and salt to inmates at the facility. She equally secured freedom for 16 inmates, including a breastfeeding mother, who have been in detention for years.
Speaking shortly after the distribution of the items, Dr. Hadiza Masari, said studies indicate that drug addiction is threatening a generation of students, women and youths, adding that substances that were once unknown have acquired notoriety among the women, who now put them to negative use. She described the issue of drug abuse as a heinous crime which breaks her heart, adding that parents must ensure that their children who are entrusted to them by God are safe from people with questionable characters.
She said: “We strongly condemn the activities of drug traffickers in view of their negative consequences of destroying the future of our youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow. This (Masari) administration through active collaboration with my NGO is therefore up and doing in bringing about opportunities that would enable our youths to be self-employed and improve their economic well-being.
"There is sufficient evidence that the use of licit and illicit substances has contributed in no small measure to the prevalence of insecurity and acute and chronic health conditions and social problems like domestic violence, road traffic and workplace accidents, and criminal activities. Both substances are responsible for the majority of treatment demands recorded in local facilities".
She explained that there was a need for all stakeholders to pay attention to the dangers inherent in the increasing use of amphetamine-type-stimulants, injecting drug use, lack of services for drug users and the gender disearities that exist in access to treatment, calling for concerted efforts to tackle the problem.
According to her, "in the midst of this changing scene we have not made much progress in drug policy reform as we continue to rely on untested and ineffective strategies and not giving due attention to treatment and rehabilitation. Treatment should be readily available to anyone in need and such treatment should be professional in nature and based on the best available evidence".
Similarly, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Centre for the Advancement of Mothers and Children, Justice Danladi while in a media chat to commemorate the day, lamented that about 15 million Nigerians partake in drug abuse, most of whom he said are the youth population.
”Imagine what would become of Nigeria in the next 15 years if by default tomorrow, these youths assume leadership positions in the society. The result would indeed be a chaotic society where life becomes short, nasty and brutish. God forbid", he said.
Consequently, he called on all and sundry to ensure the total eradication of consumption and trafficking of illicit drugs and the stigmatisation of its victims. He admonished the media and the civil society as agents of change and public enlightenment to join the fight against abuse and illicit trafficking as well sensitise the general public against stigmatisation of victims to foster fast recovery.
The chief judge added that: "It is high time we understood that the victims are our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, parents, in-laws, neighbours and colleagues who would one day rise to positions of leadership in our societies".
Even though Dr. Hadiza Bello Masari has over the years responded boldly to this global challenge with innovative, standard-setting drug demand reduction policies and programmes, there is need for other policymakers to join forces with her for more awareness programmes to address the perception of stigma among the youths and their families over substance use and to remove barriers towards seeking care for the problem.
These programmes should also address the inability of the youths, students and married women to perceive addictive behaviours as a health risk. Parents and support persons’ involvement and engagement in youth programmes should be strengthened further as it improves communication and better decision-making for youth health issues.
Family-based prevention programmes emphasising parenting skills, training or improving family functioning, communication and family rules regarding substance abuse needs to be introduced.
Also, teachers are a major source of information to young people. Hence, strengthening the role and performance of educational institutions, ensuring availability of counselling services, gender sensitivity issues, making life skills courses a part of curriculum, are required for health and welfare of young people.
Most importantly, in all youth- related programmes, young people should be involved and engaged to empower them to take informed decisions by government at all levels, including non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and philanthropists in the country.