The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.), has called on traditional rulers, parents and community leaders across Nigeria to take ownership of the fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
  
Marwa made the call on Saturday during the 10th Akinale Day celebration and the first coronation anniversary of the Towulade of Owu Akinale, Oba Oluseyi Ayodeji Adewole Adediran (Otileta I), held at Baptist Primary School, Owu Akinale, Ogun State.
  
Describing his attendance at the event as “a pilgrimage of friendship, respect and deep admiration,” Marwa recalled his close relationship with the monarch, which spans nearly two decades, dating back to Oba Adediran’s days as leader of the Lisabi Youths.
  
He commended the traditional ruler’s leadership qualities, noting that the same virtues he demonstrated as a youth leader have continued to define his reign as the Towulade of Owu Akinale.
  
Speaking on the agency’s mandate, Marwa warned that drug abuse cuts across all social classes, affecting both the rich and the poor, as well as urban and rural communities.
  
He urged parents to return to the core values of responsible parenting by closely monitoring their children and paying attention to early signs of behavioural changes that could indicate substance abuse.
  
Addressing young people, the NDLEA chairman advised them to shun illicit drugs, describing substance abuse as a deceptive escape that only worsens personal and social problems.
  
Marwa also charged the royal council and community leaders in Owu Akinale to establish community-based advocacy networks to make the town hostile to drug traffickers while providing support and rehabilitation opportunities for persons battling substance dependence.
  
According to him, the agency cannot win the war against drugs without the active partnership of traditional institutions and royal fathers, who are better positioned to understand and influence the youth within their communities.
 
Against the backdrop of the recent discovery of industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratories allegedly operated by a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel in the forests of Ogun and Oyo states, Marwa urged traditional rulers and community leaders across the South-West and other parts of the country to be vigilant.
  
He advised them to closely monitor the activities of strangers within their communities, particularly in forested areas, and ensure that anyone seeking to acquire farmland in rural communities is thoroughly profiled and vetted.
 
The event attracted prominent traditional rulers, political leaders and other dignitaries from within and outside Ogun State.