A member representing Ojomu/Balogun State Constituency of the Offa Local Government in the Kwara State House of Assembly, Ogbeni Seun Ogunniyi, has urged Nigerian media organizations and celebrities to discourage the use of hard drugs in media content through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the lawmaker said that Nigerian youths often get influenced by some celebrities, whom they sometimes see as their role models.
He thus emphasised that the media and celebrities have a significant task on their hands to reduce the menace of illicit substance use among youths.
Ogbeni Ogunniyi, who expressed concern that Kwara State has a high prevalence rate among states in the North Central zone that consume banned substances according to the World Health Organization (WHO) survey, added that all hands must be on deck to check the trend.
The lawmaker also lamented that there is a significant connection between crime and hard drug intake, stating that only effective control of the menace can reduce the crime and general insecurity bedeviling the country.
“Drug abuse has a large youth followership. It is just the best step for our media houses to ban the promotion of drug abuse to secure the future of our youths. A holistic approach to drug abuse check requires multifaceted moves, including engaging all stakeholders.
“Though the drug law is under the National Assembly, that has not foreclosed the fact that the states should fortify their drug control mechanisms,” he said.
He charged the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and other media controlling agencies “to rise with renewed vigor and check undue promotion of illicit drug use.”
However, his call was a sequel to the call by the Kwara Assembly for a lasting solution to the promotion of open consumption of illegal substances on social media in Nigeria.
A Motion on Notice: “Urgent Need for Censorship and Safety Regulation Against Contents Promoting Consumption of Illegal Drugs and Substances on Social Media as broadcast media” by Miss Rukayat Shittu (APC/Owode-Onire) earlier frowned upon notable Nigerian celebrities in the entertainment industry, including Big Brother Naija participants, openly consuming illicit substances.
Her colleagues called for the regulation of music, movie, and skits contents, urging the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to prohibit the open consumption of hard drugs in entertainment and general media content in the country to reverse the ugly trend.
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Reading the resolutions of the House, the Speaker, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu (APC/Ilesha/Gwanara), charged the executive to direct the Special Assistant to the Governor on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control to collaborate with the state Command of NDLEA.
The lawmakers said they should partner on an advocacy program on the danger inherent in drug consumption to reduce hard drugs to its lowest ebb.
