CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Olympus Marino Deck of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), Pyrates Confraternity, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Neuro-psychiatric Hospital yesterday, took campaign against illicit drugs intake to secondary schools, market places and motor parks in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.
The campaign was in commemoration of the 2024 World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which is held every June 26.
Addressing students of Community Secondary School (CSS) Mgbuoshimini, Rumueme, Obio/Akpor, Kennedy Barango, Capoon, Olympus Marino told them that indulging in drug abuse will negatively affects their moral, social and psychological reasoning.
He said they chose secondary schools for this year’s campaign with the aim to catch them young, decrying the level of negative impact of drug abuse on the youths and society.
Speaking with journalists during the campaign, Barango said “Olympus Marino in collaboration with the Nigerian Medical Association, Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Port Harcourt and NDLEA, decided to mark this World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking today, and we have chosen to come to Community Secondary School, Mgbuoshimini to sensitise the students on the danger of the act.
On the theme for this year’s celebration, “The Evidence is clear: Invest in Prevention”, he said “we believe that the best way to tackle this menace is to take it to the primary source of this abuse, and the philosophy is catch them young. In engaging the students, we will definitely curb the menace from the very root”.
He said: “We are giving them enlightenment to begin to drift from the act at an early age. The impact of the menace in society is far reaching. It is the foundation of criminality in the society. We have increased rate of mentally deranged people because of use of illicit drugs abuse”.
Barango added that the campaign is a fight for everybody in the society, saying “Our encouragement is for everybody to pick up this campaign if they have dropped it and speak on prevention of use of illicit drugs”.
On her part, a staff of NDLEA, Esther Ozurumba, advised the students to desist from being trapped in the menace of drug abuse, noting that the Chairman of the agency, Brig. General Mohammed Marwa (rtd.) has taken seriously the fight against the act across the country.
Also speaking, a mental health nurse with Psychiatric Hospital, Port Harcourt, Mr. Kaibe Nelson, said statistics revealed that over 14.6percent of Nigerian youths are involved in excessive alcohol intake, stressing that “in Rivers State because of the volatile nature of the area, statistics proved that over 30 percent of youths are down with illicit drugs “.
Nelson regretted that drug abuse has made so many of the young people to get involved in criminal activities like, kidnapping, killings, homicide and other vices.
He said: “As someone who works in the psychiatric hospital, for every young person between the ages of 15-45 that comes to the hospital we noticed that six out of every 10 patients admitted are down with drugs.”
Listing some of the negative impacts of drug abuse, Nelson said: “Every human being has a sense of reasoning because man in nature is made of different components, but we are talking of the brain. The psycho active elements in these illicit drugs they use, also affects the central nervous system.
“Some of the harmful effects include that those who engage so much in toxic element or alcohol, it damages their kidney, proliferate the free radicals in their system, they face challenges like cancer, anemia, lungs, others”.
Meanwhile, the principal of CSS Mgbuoshimini, Dr. Chijioke Amadi, has commended the groups for the enlightenment programme. He said “The programme was rich; the students were also happy and I am sure there will be a positive change at the end of the day”.
THISDAY observed also that the enlightenment programme was taken to markets places and motor parks in Port Harcourt, where the group responded to questions raised by traders and commercial drivers on drug abuse and illicit trafficking.
