According to the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), in order to break the hold of drug addiction in Nigeria, action that is precise and purposeful must take precedence over discourse.
Mandatory Drug Screening at Every Critical Gateway of Nigerian Life was suggested by the NYCN in a letter to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The organization stated that the framework is not intended as a punitive measure but rather as an essential tool for protection and intervention.
The letter, which was signed by NYCN National President Isah Abubakar, stated that the drug problem poses a threat to the country’s unity and that individual efforts are insufficient.
He clarified that Nigeria urgently needs a complete, systematic defense that supports all decent parents and citizens, emphasizing that their objective is to create a national system that identifies those in dire need of assistance because the country’s future has been irreversibly harmed.
According to Abubakar, the council put forth a 10-point plan to protect the country’s institutions, and NDLEA is urged to support it by testing students before they take the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) and before they are granted admission to any tertiary institution (university or polytechnic).
Additionally, it mandated that NDLEA provide tests to graduates prior to their receipt of their discharge certificates from the NYSC orientation camps as well as before they obtain their university degree certificates.
The NYCN recommended evaluating candidates before to any employment in the public or private sector and mandating regular, recurring testing for all workers.
Regarding politics and leadership, the letter emphasized that leaders must maintain the highest standards and that no political party may grant an expression or nomination form to any citizen, including political appointees, without first obtaining a required, negative drug test and a routine check after three (3) months.
It said that NDLEA should actively work with singers and cultural figures to put an end to the usage and public display of hard drugs in all its forms and make sure that they inspire young people rather than put them in danger.
In order to protect the most valuable resource and the next generation, the NYCN also recommended that NDLEA take the necessary steps to guarantee that the whole institutional architecture is established in law, creating unambiguous, enforceable national laws.
“We believe the NDLEA must be just as intentional and relentless in its efforts to prosecute the drug dealers who poison our streets as it is in securing the pathways for intervention and rehabilitation for those who fall victim,” Abubakar stated.
He urged NDLEA to take the initiative in turning the suggestion into national policy by cooperating to clean house, institution by institution, and create the drug-free country Nigerians deserve, explaining that Nigeria’s fate is worth the struggle.
