BY SUNNY DAVID
Nigerians have been urged to join hands with security agencies to tackle increasing challenge of illicit drug abuse among youths and teenagers.
Speaking to journalists in Awka, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Red Cross Society, Professor Peter Katchy lamented that illicit drug use and dependency among young people is harmful to socio-economic life of the society and threatening the future of the country.
According to recent survey by the federal government over 14.3million Nigerians abuse illicit drugs representing about 14.4percent of the country’s population who are between fifteen and sixty-four years.
Professor Katchy explained that use of illicit drugs by children and youths has lasting adverse effects on their mental and physical development as drug abuse could impact the brain’s ability to function in the short term as well as prevent proper growth and development later in life.
He said drug abuse creates various problems for families, communities and the entire society including cultism, armed robbery, prostitution, increase in number of school drop outs, indecent dressing even among married women in the name of fashion even in churches, youth homicides and suicides.
He called on the ministry of Youths and Sports to set up well funded agency for mass re-orientation, character reformation and rehabilitation of children and youths to fill the increasing gap created by poor family upbringing of many children while the Film Censor Board should take more proactive measures to censor films that promote negative values.
Professor Katchy urged families to strive to inculcate strong moral values in their children while security agencies should clampdown on those who abuse gender dressing.
