“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop- A popular Nigeria saying
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime defines Drug trafficking as “a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws.”
It is longer news that four Nigerians have been executed in Indonesia for drug related offences. The Nigerians, Martins Anderson, 50, was charged with possession of heroin, and Okwudili Oyatanze, 41, also charged for smuggling heroin; Jamiu Abashin, 50, was executed for smuggling heroin; while Sylvester Nwolise, 42, was executed for the same offence.
They were executed by firing squad despite pleas by the Nigerian government, UN and Amnesty International for the death sentence to be lifted. The four Nigerians had originally been sentenced between 1999 and 2004 for different drug-related offences.
It could also be recalled that in 2011, 25-year old Nigerian drug courier Chilaka Ogbonna Emmanuel died onboard an aircraft on his way to Malaysia en-route Doha, forcing the pilot to divert the plane to India. Chilaka allegedly took off from the Lagos Airport on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. A post mortem revealed that he had ingested narcotics. This unfortunate happenstance occurred barely few months after Nigeria lost a suspected drug trafficker, Offiah Gozie Vincent, who was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos, but died few days later in a Lagos hospital.
There are more and more of these instances where most couriers claimed they were lured into it while other blamed it to joblessness. The reality however, is that they must have been looking for fast money which led to their untimely death.
Drug trafficking is a reflection of the activities of some youths in the society, who lack career expectancy.
Experts have identified major causes of drug trafficking as peer pressure, weak parental control, child abuse, imitation, emotional stress, the availability of the drugs and the ineffectiveness of the laws on drug trafficking. On the other hand, Most Nigerian movie stars, musicians and their likes have not set good example to youths giving the way and manner some of them abuse drugs in their films and in reality.
This writer believes that that idleness contributed to drug peddling. When youths are jobless, there is the temptation to occupy themselves with not only drug trafficking but other illegal acts. A lot of youths are restive, and this can make them to commit crimes such as drug trafficking and other drug related offences.
The way out of the menace is simply through provision of employment so as to productively engage the youth. Gainful employment would give youths a focus and discourage them from committing crimes.
There is the need to provide orientation for the youth and review school curriculum, placing less emphasis on paper qualification and ensuring vocational training. There should be re-orientation in primary and secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions.
The use of public enlightenment programmes to sensitise the youth to the dangers of drug trafficking by government parastatals, private organizations and different youth movements would go a long way in minimizing drug related activities carried out by youths.
If the war on drug abuse and trafficking will be won, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA must be well funded and detached from all forms of political interference. There is need for better awareness creation on the evils of illicit drug use and merchandising. Moreover, the legal framework requires strengthening to ensure that those involved in illicit drug trade are adequately punished to serve as deterrents.
Lastly, the youths should be watchful and careful on the type of activities individuals lured them into. Why won’t the so-called drug lords transport their illegal substances themselves but would require your service to doing such? There are lot of entrepreneurship programs we could learn from and you could establish a small or medium enterprise to start from, as patience is key to success
Gidado YUshau Shuaib Depattment of Mass Communication Baze University, Abuja
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