Marwa warns aspiring exporters, women, youth groups against illicit drugs shipment

Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday said women and young people must play a central role in Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy, stressing that sustainable national prosperity depends on productive enterprise, investment, innovation and the capacity of Nigerians to create value.

Shettima said the government alone could not achieve the economic target, adding that the country needed an enabling environment where businesses could emerge, grow, compete and contribute to national development.

The Vice President stated this in his keynote address at the Aspire Women Forum masterclass held at the Conference Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He was represented at the event by the Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Development Partners, Inna Binta Audu, who delivered the address on his behalf.

The event, themed “From Survival to Thriving: Empowering Women and Youth for Export Readiness, Global Market Access and Prosperity under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” focused on equipping women and young people with the skills and knowledge needed to grow their businesses and access international markets.

In the address delivered on his behalf, Shettima described the transition from survival to thriving as not merely a personal aspiration but an economic imperative and a national development priority.

He said the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu was anchored on the conviction that sustainable prosperity must be driven by productive enterprise, investment, innovation and value creation.

“Women and young people must occupy a central place in that ecosystem. Their economic participation expands our productive capacity, strengthens household incomes, creates employment and widens the opportunities available to future generations,” he said.

The Vice President stressed that economic inclusion must go beyond training programmes and empowerment announcements to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, institutions and market access needed to turn their skills into sustainable income.

He said the success of the masterclass should be measured not by the number of participants but by the businesses strengthened, new markets accessed and livelihoods improved through the knowledge acquired.

Shettima commended the founder of Aspire Women Forum, Dr Zainab Marwa, and the institutions and partners involved in organising the programme.

In his address at the event, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged aspiring exporters to protect the integrity of their businesses against drug trafficking, warning that a shipment contaminated with illicit drugs could cost them their freedom and damage Nigeria’s international reputation.

Marwa cautioned participants against allowing traffickers to exploit their businesses for criminal activities, advising them to verify their business partners, transactions and consignments before shipping goods across borders.

 

“Know exactly what you are shipping. Verify your partners and your transactions. Never carry a package you did not pack, and never let your goods be used for trafficking,” he said.

 

He added that a single contaminated consignment could lead to imprisonment, tarnish an exporter’s family name and undermine access to international markets painstakingly developed by Nigerian businesses.

 

Marwa said export readiness required integrity, quality products, compliance with relevant standards, accurate documentation and dependable service.

 

He commended the forum for bringing together women and young people for training and connecting them with markets, finance and institutions capable of improving their economic prospects.

 

According to him, while opportunities were expanding under the Renewed Hope Agenda, entrepreneurs needed practical skills, supportive institutions, discipline, resilience and sound decision-making to take advantage of them.

 

The NDLEA chief also warned participants against substance abuse, describing drug use and illicit trafficking as threats capable of undermining their ambitions.

“Do not let pressure, disappointment, curiosity or the desire to belong draw you into drugs. Drugs solve no business problem and end no hardship; they only multiply them,” he said.

He encouraged anyone struggling with drug dependence to seek professional assistance, describing such a decision as an act of courage rather than shame.

Marwa drew attention to the agency’s toll-free helpline, 0800 1020 3040, which he said operates round the clock and provides access to trained professionals, including clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists, in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

He also urged parents, mentors and community leaders to encourage people in need to seek treatment rather than isolate them.

Marwa pledged the agency’s readiness to collaborate with Aspire Women Forum through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy initiative.

Earlier, the founder and president of Aspire Women Forum, Dr Zainab Marwa, said many Nigerians engaged in farming, food processing, tailoring, trading and other businesses struggled to make meaningful progress despite working long hours.

She attributed some of the challenges to poor record-keeping, lack of business registration, unsuitable financing, inadequate packaging and limited access to buyers.

She commended the Federal Government under President Tinubu for initiatives aimed at supporting enterprise and economic inclusion through the Renewed Hope Agenda, including financing opportunities for small businesses through the Bank of Industry and programmes focused on skills development and digital enterprise.

Marwa said the masterclass was designed to help participants understand and access such opportunities while preparing their businesses for wider markets.

She explained that the forum had extended participation to young men alongside women and young women because income insecurity affected entire households, while reaffirming its commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment.

She added that the forum would sustain engagement with participants after the event through a dedicated team providing communication, referrals and further learning opportunities.

Marwa thanked Vice President Shettima for the support extended by his office, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the founder of Women in Agribusiness, Trade and Export, Dr. Queen Onyinye Okpa, among others, for supporting the initiative.