Lawmaker advocates collective fight against drug abuse
The Chief Whip of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Tonye Isenah has advocated collaborative effort against drug abuse in the society.
The lawmaker who made the call at the launching and book presentation on “Drug Awareness Caution Network programme (DACN),” at NUJ press center, in Yenagoa on Sunday called on pharmaceutical stores and patent medicine dealers to stop selling drugs without prescription.
Isenah insisted that, drug abuse is a national emergency, stressing that all hands must be on deck to stop the menace killing our youths.
He urged parents, schools, offices and law enforcement agencies to join in the fight against “across the counter drugs”.
According to him, people are killing today because of influence of hard drugs, adding that even when people are sent to go and kill, they do it under the influence of hard drugs.
“There should be a search warrant if possible, for the agencies to close the stores selling these hard drugs called ‘tramadol’. The annoying thing is that, these are prescribed drugs. If tramadol is given to a mad person to calm him down. A normal person should not take it without prescription. Stop selling these drugs without prescription,” he fumed.
In her address, the Founder and President of DACN, a nongovernmental organization, Mrs. Felicity Samuel, said drug abuse is a menace that has eaten deep into the fabric of our society, and said all hands must be on deck to address the issue before it destroys the society.
“Crime is on the increase because of the use of hard drugs by our youths and even some adults. Oftentimes, people know that it is evil to commit crime, but with the influence of hard drugs, people commit serious crimes in the society.
“We call on government, public spirited people, churches, parents, corporate bodies, media and general public to join hands with our Network to drive our aims of bringing sanity to our society.
“I use this occasion to urge government to be proactive in the fight against illicit drugs to make the society a safe place for all to live in.”
In his presentation, Dr. N.K.S Dirikebamo, said Bayelsa state which was one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria has continued to witness juvenile delinquencies, cultism, robbery, rape, kidnapping, killings and gangsterism due to drug abuse.
“In our homes, we know those who traffic these drugs and the abusers, let’s be our brothers’ keepers by informing the relevant authorities promptly,” he pleaded.
Chris Eze, Yenagoa
