Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), the chairman and chief executive officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has urged widespread support for Nigeria’s recently launched alternative development initiative and called for a coordinated national response against illicit drug cultivation.
Marwa made the plea during a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, emphasizing that in order to guarantee the initiative’s success, communities, government institutions, development partners, and the private sector must continue to work together.
Ilu Abo, Ifon, and Eleyewo are three cannabis-producing settlements in Ondo State where the alternative development initiative, the first of its type in Africa, was recently introduced as a pilot project.
Marwa claims that the program’s goal is to address the underlying reasons of illegal drug production by giving the impacted communities access to sustainable and legal economic possibilities.
The head of NDLEA explained the concept, saying that it goes beyond simply substituting cannabis with other products. It also enhances agricultural value chains, increases food security, fosters rural economic growth, and lessens the burden on the criminal justice system and law enforcement.
He pointed out that the strategy also promotes social stability and calm in places that were previously connected to drug-related crime.
According to Marwa, the degree of acceptance by host communities and traditional leaders showed the efficacy of community-driven solutions, even though she described the pilot phase as optimistic.
He clarified that locals have welcomed the program as a respectable route to better livelihoods, less poverty, and more community safety.
Marwa emphasized that Nigeria’s drug problem, especially the usage and cultivation of cannabis, required a change from enforcement-only tactics to UN-endorsed development-focused approaches.
He referenced data from the 2018 National Drug Use Survey, which showed that over 14 million Nigerians have used psychoactive substances in a year, with cannabis being the most often used substance.
He also disclosed that cannabis is still the most widely used illegal substance in Nigeria, with millions of users across the country and thousands of hectares of land under production, especially in the Southwest’s forested regions.
He claims that these farming locations are frequently connected to organized crime networks that feed both domestic and international markets.
Significant threats to public health, society, and security, particularly for youth, are posed by the increased production and use of cannabis, the NDLEA chairman cautioned.
The scope of the issue was highlighted when he revealed that cannabis accounted for more than three-quarters of all illegal substances that the agency had confiscated during the previous five years.
Marwa was hopeful that, with strong political will and ongoing backing from stakeholders, the alternative development program might drastically cut down on illicit cultivation despite the difficulties.
He stressed that the program is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, especially with regard to community development, agriculture, and security.
Marwa praised both domestic and foreign partners, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, agricultural research institutions, and development organizations from other nations, for their support of the pilot project.
He also thanked the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ondo State Government for their cooperation.
In order to protect Nigeria’s future, he urged communities impacted by illegal drug cultivation to collaborate closely with the NDLEA in creating safe, secure, and productive livelihoods. He described the program as a people-focused solution.
