El-Rufai
KADUNA State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige have raised an alarm over the growing rate of drug abuse among youths, who they say form over 65 percent of the nation’s workforce, saying such habit is gradually destroying the nation’s productive workforce.
Speaking at a one-day workshop on substance abuse as a impediment to gainful employment, organised by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), El-Rufai expressed concern over the growing rate of drug and substance abuse among the youths and women in the northern part of the country, relevant agencies in the country must work together to effectively tackle the scourge. While saying that over 65 percent of those who engage in substance abuse are youths who constitute the national workforce and the future of the nation, the governor described substance abuse as a time bomb for the country.
He said: “the abuse of drugs and other harmful substances, especially in northern Nigeria is a sorry tale. So now is the time to begin to seek realistic solutions to mitigate the destructive outcomes of substance abuse in Nigeria. “The socio-economic consequences of this trend leave us with no option than to strive to understand the dynamics of the substance abuse phenomenon, the impact on employment and the overall implications for our development as a nation. “This has become necessary when you consider the fact that over 65 percent of those involved in this social malaise are the youth who truly constitute our national workforce and indeed the future of our nation.
“This ugly picture is a time bomb. We must understand that the army of young people who are hooked on drugs comes from the most active part of the population for whom we must provide employment opportunities.” Also speaking, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said it is a well known fact that quality youths provide the impetus to sustain the present and also serves as a guarantee to the future of the nation. He described substance abuse as the abnormal use of substances such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, Valium etc in quantities other than what is medically prescribed, adding that individuals who become dependent or addicted t such substances could suffer physical, psychiatric and social complications with resultant unbowed effects on themselves, families, their productivity and the nation.
The Acting Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Kunle Obanya, said the aim of the workshop is to sensitize the general public especially the youths on the dangers of substance abuse and its negative implications on the affected persons in particular, the society and the economy at large. According to him, substance abuse in all ramification is an evil wind that blows no society and economy and good. There is JFK country that attains or achieves economic growth when large proportions of her population are into substance abuse.
