IBRAHIM QUADRI
The chairman National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. (retd) Mohammed Buba Marwa and President of Christ Hospital Ministry, CHM, Reverend Samuel Ajibola said Pastor Ituah Ighodalo have reiterated the call to address drug abuse in the country.
This was the highpoint of a day conference held for some children on Saturday at Regency Hall, Otunba Jobi Fele Way, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State.
The event which was organized by Christ Hospital Ministry, CHM was with the topic, “Youth and Our Future: School-Based Substance Abuse Prevention.”
The father of the Day, who is the President of CHM, worldwide, Reverend Ajibola said, “I want you to bear in your minds, you are not here to mark register but to be good examples to your generation.”
He explained that the participating children would be in a position to influence other children in the public domain. He noted, “Your generation will understand your language than me. So God has selected you to be a blessing to your generation.”
The conference chairman, Pastor Ighodalo, said in addressing drug abuse, “the first step is information and education. A lot of people are not well informed. Most of the times, social involvement is a challenge, they give you drug little by little, if you are not careful, it becomes habitual and people are not able to get away with it.”
He added, that “It, therefore, affects the ability to take rational decisions, your spending habit and so and so forth. So the first thing is to inform and educate people.”
He explained that the cooperation of everybody is needed to win the war on hard drug, saying “We need the cooperation of the parents, spouses and cooperation of the children and relatives.”
Ighodalo also stated that there is need for serious medical support. “Unfortunately, some of our psychiatrists are more concerned about the money, they are not concerned about the success of the treatments.
“So the church should take it more as a calling, so we need a lot of spiritual support because some are spiritual matters at a stage. Some got addicted because they didn’t have the spiritual will power to break it. In our churches and mosques, we need to put in the spiritual efforts,” he submitted.
The chairman of the NDLEA, Marwa expressed satisfaction over the conference, saying it was a laudable approach to educate the children on the danger of illicit drugs.
Marwa, who was represented by Mrs Odili noted, “Youth gets expiry date, whatever you do today will determine how tomorrow will be.”
He warned the children to always exhibit good character to excel in the society, saying “Complement your certificates with good characters of humility, kindness and respect. It is your characters that will give value to your papers,” he stated.
The Mother of the Day, Mrs. Susan Oyemade who was represented by Mrs. Alabode asked the children to avoid temptation in committing crimes, saying it is a path to destruction.
While advising the parents, she stated, “Let’s be vigilant and detecting risks so that we can provide hope and direction for our children.”
For a better society
