NAPTIP, NGO, and others promote school-based approaches to reducing drug misuse

An NGO has pushed for a school-based teaching programme to curb drug addiction among students in both public and private schools throughout the federation’s states.

The recommendation was made by The Motivator’s Crib Africa on Friday during a day-long “Drug-Thon” campaign planned for a few chosen schools in Osun.

Nwokocha Chijioke, the MCA’s executive director, explained that the program’s main goal was to build a strategy for strengthening drug prevention through art and craft in schools.

He claimed that the information learned at the drug-a-thon meeting will be very helpful in teaching and motivating kids to avoid drug usage and human trafficking.

He thinks that in order for students to be respectable representatives of society, they must learn to abstain from drugs.

Chijioke claimed that the Motivators Crib Africa was working to promote diversity and give unheard voices a platform in the fight against drug abuse and human trafficking.

“We have started safe communication and nonjudgmental spaces for survivors of these social problems and/or Most-at-Risk and Underserved Populations, and we have contributed to many policy conversations and practise shifts.

The Zonal Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Ajaegbu Chinedu, stated in his speech that it is now more important than ever to have the assistance of all relevant parties in the battle against drug misuse and human trafficking.

Chinedu said that numerous pupils have been taken advantage of in a variety of ways, including sexual and labour exploitation, unsavoury peer groups, and other harmful social vices, without showing any remorse or suspicion.

He stated that it is crucial for the protection of society that everyone work together to combat the threat.

Additionally, Yetunde Yofaha, the Assistant State Coordinator for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), claimed that educating students in the classroom was insufficient to stop drug usage and human trafficking.

According to Yofaha, using creative arts and crafts in the classroom will assist raise awareness and educate both students and instructors.

She named inadequate parental guidance as one of the factors influencing drug misuse among students and insisted that it has to be addressed right away.

K. Jimoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Osun Ministry of Education, had earlier urged participants to abstain from using any drugs because doing so could put their lives in danger and limit their future prospects.

Jimoh urged students to use all of the information they learned at the drug-a-thon and vowed that the state will not give up on the fight against drug usage.

He thanked the organisers for planning the event at a period when student drug misuse was pervasive.

The PS issued a warning against abusing pharmaceuticals that were given by doctors in order to prevent any overdoses that might result in abuse.

However, he urged all parties to back the state’s efforts to combat drug addiction and human trafficking in order to make both public and private schools secure for pupils.