The Director-General, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Moji Adeyeye, has warned that excessive abuse of drugs by the youth could jeopardize Nigeria’s future.
She warned further that a child that grew up under frustrating conditions would develop psychological problems with time and possibly become dangerous as an adult.
Speaking at the maiden Annual National Security Summit in Abuja with the theme “COVID-19, Drug abuse, mental health: Implications to national security,” she noted with dismay that conditions related to the pandemic are known to have increased economic deprivation and feelings of social isolation which are factors that can contribute to increased drug use.
Adeyeye, who was represented by NAFDAC’s Director of Narcotics and Controlled Substances, Dr Musa Umar, said the topic was apt and in line with national and international realities.
According to her, drug abuse is a health and a social problem, stressing that tackling the menace required a balanced approach touching on aspects related to the complex relationship between lack of opportunities, drug abuse, mental health, and national security.
“Security has gone beyond the notion of the physical safety and survival of a state from internal or external threats to include all the interlocking realms of economic self-reliance, social cohesion, and political stability. It borders on how people would live a long and healthy life.
“Human development is about enlarging people’s choices to live a long and healthy life, to acquire knowledge and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living (UNDP, 1990:10). In the absence of these essential choices many other opportunities remain inaccessible on a sustainable basis,” she said.
