At the International Youth Day Celebration (IYD) in Ikom, Cross River State, organised by the National Youth Council Of Nigeria (NYCN) Ikom, it was revealed that about 222,000 Cross River residents and about 1.4 million Nigerians use hard drugs.
This was stated by the Assistant, Commander of Narcotics, Area, Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ikom, Kenneth Odili.
The development sparked reactions, revealing what has been done, will be done, and is being done to curb the abuse of hard drugs in Ikom, in particular, and Cross River in general.
Stakeholders say the problem is further worsened by the closeness of Ikom, to the Nigerian-Cameroon land border.
In an interview with Nigerian Tribune in Ikom, Odili said that “You see, like the theme goes, “Youth As Indispensable Agents of Change” I want them to remove the word “Change” because instead, the youths are agents of drug abuse. They use drugs, youths have brought methamphetamine into Ikom. The youths have also made sure that there is no drug rehabilitation centre in Ikom.
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“About 222,000 Cross Riverians use drugs. The same youths make up the 1.4 million Nigerians using drugs. The problem of drugs in Ikom is a serious problem; because of our closeness to other countries like Cameroon, where Tramadol can easily enter Nigeria. Although the Youth Council Of Nigeria in Ikom has been partnering with our “War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), to bring perpetrators of drug abuse to book; those between 18 to 45. The remedy is constant education, and sensitization.”
When contacted, Augustine Ukpepi, youth development officer for Ikom and Etung Local Government Areas, explained what is expected of youths.
“We have been going out community to community conducting sensitisations. we will soon commence another round of the sensitisations against drugs again. I want to celebrate Ikom Youths positively.
“The youths should be assets, not liabilities. The world over, we need assets, not liabilities. Global youth should be assets not liabilities. They should be developers, not destroyers.”
Meanwhile, Honourable Ogar Ojong Eba, the leader of Ikom Legislative Council, who represented the chairman, Kingsley Egumi, at the IYD celebration explained that “I have called on the youth coordinator severally, and we are taking the campaign to the rural areas, because some have migrated from urban to rural areas and if it is not arrested, then the urban campaigns will have no impact. If you come to my ward, I have made sure that drug peddlers are arrested.
“In my ward, you can’t find anyone selling or dealing in prohibited hard drugs. If you don’t speak to the youth about drugs, we won’t be doing well. So we need to increase drug awareness and discourage it. for our society to be a better place. The youths too can, as agents of change, help to change other youths from drug addictions,” he said.
Kenneth Kejang, NYCN Ikom chairman, on his part, told the youths to “be aware of the dangers of drug abuse. It only helps ruin your future and keep you a perpetual victim to addiction, poor mental and physical health.”
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