Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jul 2005
Source: This Day (Nigeria)
Copyright: 2005 This Day.
Contact:  http://www.thisdayonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2870
Author: Ayakeme Whisky

THE DANGER OF DRUG ABUSE

Life Is A Wonderful Gift. It Appears Flexible, Yet Rigid.

Life Is All About Making Choices.

Apart from the choice of one's parents where life seems rigid, God has 
indeed ordanied man a free willed agent and offers him a whole lot of options.

The choice of having a formal education; the choice of friends to be 
identified with; the choice of food to eat and habit to cultivate etc. are 
several of the choices every man must make for himself.

The beauty of life lies in the freedom to either make healthy or harmful 
selections. Nevertheless, whatever choice you make will invariably 
determine the quality of life that you will live.

Have you ever taken time to reflect on some of your decisions in life? If 
your have, then two likely things happened.

The first is a feeling of regret for the unhealthy decisions taken and 
secondly a sense of fulfillment for the healthy choices made. It is in the 
light of this that the theme for the celebration of this year's United 
Nations' Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs 
and Psychotropic Substances, Value Yourself Make Healthy Choices, is apt.

It would be recalled that June 26 of every year has been set-aside by the 
United Nations for member states to reappraise efforts at tackling the 
global threat of drugs to mankind.

It goes without saying that drug abuse and illicit traffic has eaten deep 
into the fabric of the society and concrete and decisive actions are 
required to halt its further advance.

The understanding that the choices that man make can go a long way in 
ridding our society of the drug menace, no doubt, informed the year's theme.

Becoming a drug addict or a drug trafficker is really a matter of choice. 
It is a decision you have to make yourself.

Although, environmental factors such as peer influence, parents' 
involvement, poverty, unemployment and even easy and sudden wealth may 
influence one's decision, you can will yourself to resist the lure.

The bad influence on your harmful decision to either abuse or traffic in 
drugs may come from different areas.

It may come from friends at school or work place, neighbours and even from 
one's parents.

Worst still, it could be as a result of the glamourising effects of drugs 
flaunted in movies by film stars or sheer desire to experiment with drugs 
due to ignorance of their dire consequences. Irrespective of the 
influencing factor, it is worthy of note that many people who have made 
similar unhealthy choices such as drug abuse, drug trafficking, 
indiscriminate and careless sex habit, cultism etc daily rue that first day 
they began the journey to torment.

These drug addicts and traffickers are filled with regret.

The consequences of their past mistakes keep hunting them till date. "If I 
had known," is a popular lament that escapes from the lips of such people 
often.

In fact, the list of regret is endless, "I should not have entered into 
that club or house. I should not have tasted it. I should have said no."

Drug addiction is not attained in a day, but it is pertinent to realize 
that it starts by just making one unhealthy choice.

Cultivating the habit of drug addition may start with two common social 
habits; smoking of cigarette and drinking of alcohol.

Cigarette and alcohol are known as gateway drugs, because they can 
correctly be dubbed as appetizers to the unsavory meal of drugs.

Though, they are socially acceptable, they are also addictive. There is the 
tendency to increase dosage if cigarette and alcohol are taken regularly.

We must take full responsibility for our actions in life. If we bow to 
negative forces and bad pressures, we would only have ourselves to blame. 
In spite of all odds, we have the innate ability to say no and be resolute 
in making healthy decisions.

Cultivating a good and healthy choice is as easy as cultivating a bad or 
harmful habit.

However, natural human tendency and wrong preference for evil tend to make 
us decide otherwise.

The forces of good and evil have equal chances and capability in our lives.

The perceived strength of one over the other is a function of individual bias.

The consequences of making unhealthy decision such as drug abuse and 
trafficking include poor health condition, unemployment, high 
susceptibility to HIV/AIDS and broken marriage.

Others include social stigma and ordeal of arrest, trial and conviction for 
drug offences and premature death.

However, when you make a good choice by saying no to drugs, you will reap 
tremendous benefits such as good health, good name and reputation, 
fulfilled career and blissful family life etc. The choice is yours. Choose 
a healthy life style and make the world a peaceful place for all.

One of the statutory obligations of the National Drug Law Enforcement 
Agency (NDLEA) is the proper guidance in the formation of salubrious 
choices. As a matter of fact, the NDLEA, which was established by Decree 48 
of 1989, was intended to restore the country's battered image, through a 
vigorous and enthusiastic prosecution of the drug war. The aspirations of 
Nigerians for the Agency have been properly articulated and directed under 
the headship of Alhaji (Dr.) Bello Lafiaji. The NDLEA boss has implemented 
several programme of events geared towards the formation of wholesome 
choices in life.

Alhaji Lafiaji's crave for excellent drug enforcement epitomizes devotion 
to humanity and professionalism. His dialectic paradigm combines the merits 
of both proactive and reactive approach in anti-narcotic activities. The 
proactive technique is preventive while the latter is corrective. The NDLEA 
is taking this bold step to ensure that every body is carried along in the 
campaign for the formation of good choices; and those who have 
inadvertently made wrong choices have ample opportunity to make amends.

Some Agency's efforts at redirecting choices are centred on the various 
drug enlightenment campaign programme.

One of these is the catch-them-young campaign. It is targeted mainly at the 
youth, particularly teenagers, who are highly prone to making wrong choices.

The drug Agency is intensifying this crusade through the establishment of 
drug free club in schools.

These clubs serve as counselling units in schools to sensitize young people 
to the catastrophic consequences of making unhealthy choices.

The fact that students under the tutelage of the drug Agency manage these 
drug free clubs has made it to break insurmountable barriers in the war 
against drug use and trafficking among youths.

The use of counter narcotic workshops and seminars are also important ways 
of sensitizing the public concerning the dangers of unhealthy habits.

This is one handy tool of public enlightenment that the NDLEA has not left 
to chance. These seminars are usually targeted at sensitive groups such as 
the National Union of Road Transport Workers in factories etc. To ensure 
efficacy in this campaign the NDLEA prints and distributes posters in 
public places such as schools, hospitals, markets, bus stops etc.

Interestingly, these posters carry captivating messages in English, pigin 
English and major Nigerian languages.

The use of souvenirs such as Tee Shirts and face caps, stickers, etc have 
also been very effective in reaching out to members of the public.

The NDLEA has also entered into partnership with corporate organizations in 
the area of programme sponsorship. There are numerous drama series on 
television aimed at guiding members of the public in making good and 
productive choices.

Some of the most celebrated ones include Boomerang, Encounter and Full 
Circle sponsored by Standard Trust Bank and transmitted on several 
television stations across the country.

Complementing the TV drama series are anti-drug radio jingles on at least 
12 radio stations, two at least in each geo-political area of Nigeria.

NDLEA appreciates the drug situation in the country.

Consequently, it has taken adequate measures to complement drug 
enlightenment campaign with drug interdiction efforts.

This includes investigation, arrest/seizure and prosecution of drug culprits.

The painful agony of arrest, trial and conviction helps to re-direct the 
mindset of prospective drug dealers and addicts. Besides, arrests and 
seizures also help to cut the chain of illegal supply of drugs, which will 
ultimately lead to unavailability of illegal drugs.

The Agency has steadily made overwhelming drug seizures with fantastic 
numbers of arrests.

However, hope is not lost for people that have cultivated bad habits such 
as drug addiction.

This is because of the fact that treatment works.

The NDLEA through its Drug Demand Reduction Unit offers counselling, 
treatment and rehabilitation services to drug abuse patients in their 
offices nationwide. A total of 267 drug-addicted persons have been 
successfully rehabilitated in the country between January and May this 
year. We must not forget to seek help whenever we are in need. Drug 
addiction is like a spirit that torments its victim until he is delivered.

Drug addicts, who indeed are sick people, require love and care like other 
patients.

The choice that we make in life is a reflection of the value that we place 
on our lives.

Life is a priceless gift of nature.

It is true that human beings die, but those that value their lives are 
immortalized through their productive ideas.

A life that is devoted to creative innovation aimed at making life more 
meaningful and pleasurable to humanity is an eternal treasure. Drug 
trafficking and addiction are ominous acts that will not only reduce the 
value of our lives, but also capable of outright destruction of the beauty 
and talent of all drug couriers and druggies. Continue to add more value to 
your life by making healthy choices.
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