Ogun Gov’s Wife Applauds NDLEA, SDCC’s Efforts To Rid State Of Drug Abuse
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have agreed to collaborate in the areas of creating alternatives for illicit drug producers and provision of agricultural opportunities for drug users undergoing rehabilitation to prevent them from relapse.

This was even as the Wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, on Friday, commended the NDLEA and State Drug Control Committee (SDCC) for their determination to stem the tide of drug abuse in the state.

Speaking when the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), led some members of his management team into a meeting with the minister and top officials of the ministry in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, assured the NDLEA of the ministry’s support for its ongoing drug control efforts.

Marwa had told the minister that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu has food security and national security as part of its focus, adding that “we really cannot tackle national security without adequate attention to drug control because they are interlinked.”

He said the visit was to seek collaboration between NDLEA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as part of ongoing efforts to surmount the challenge of drug scourge facing the country.

He noted that out of the 14.3 million drug users in Nigeria, 10.6 million of them abuse cannabis alone, making the psychoactive substance the most commonly abused in the country.

Marwa said: “As you know, cannabis is not only smoked, it is also eaten. They make soup with it. They mix it with hot drinks to produce monkey tail. They take it in all kinds of forms. Every week, we make arrests. And still they keep at it, because there’s so much money in the business. And so, we sat down and reflected and felt that there’s a more permanent solution to this, especially with the growers of cannabis.

“So, we have decided to create another platform called Alternative Development, which seeks to persuade cannabis growers to change from growing cannabis, which is illicit, to something legitimate and licit. This will give them at least a legitimate source of income. They will be able to sleep with their two eyes closed. Instead of always living in fear of arrest by NDLEA, they will live respectable lives with their families and their communities.

“The Alternative Development project has secured the buy-in of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs and they are willing to encourage us. But for us to tell cannabis growers, ‘please, don’t grow cannabis, grow something else,’ there has to be incentives for them to agree. I’ve actually had a meeting with some cannabis growers and discussed this idea with them.

“This is where we need the support of the ministry to give them some inputs, seedlings, tractors, water, fertilizers, chemicals, and others. So, we looked at the possibility of getting them to grow food crops including artemisia annua plant that can fetch the country $100 billion yearly. They call it sweet wormwood. The derivative is used for the treatment of malaria. We consulted with IITA; they actually confirmed that they have grown samples across the country. They have done some trials. And it seems to have a very positive outlook.

“With a $100 billion possible income to the country, if this is fully tapped, we’ll suggest that this is probably one of the areas of pharmaceutical crops that would be given to these cannabis growers to farm in addition to other licit crops.”

Marwa noted that the other area of collaboration is the assimilation of persons coming out of NDLEA rehab facilities into agricultural programmes and projects that will give them livelihood and prevent them from relapse.

“Now, when our children come to us for treatment and rehabilitation, because of drugs, we treat them, and they become normal people, responsible, after the treatment. Then you throw them back again into the same environment where they got into drug abuse, they will relapse.

“So, we thought that within the scheme of this esteemed ministry, you can assist us so that at the end of their rehabilitation they can be assimilated into some of your agricultural programmes with whatever incentives so that they can be gainfully engaged.”

In his response, the minister agreed that there was a direct correlation between drug abuse and other forms of criminality, noting that if nothing was done urgently by all stakeholders, the country may be breeding criminals instead of the next generation of leaders.

“So, we should join hands and this is the collaborative effort that President Tinubu has already mandated us to do in terms of not only achieving food security, employment, job creation, but improvement of livelihood, inclusivity of youth and women in agriculture, access to capital and credit, and so on and so forth.

“I would like to express our commitment to this alternative development initiative. Then, on the issue of your rehab centres, we will work with you so that those being treated can get some livelihood support in terms of tools and other things. We are willing to partner with you on the excellent work you are doing,” the minister assured.

The meeting agreed to set up a technical committee that would work on the details of the collaboration.

Speaking during at a meeting comprising health professionals, educators, representatives of ministries, Non-governmental Organisations, civil society actors, faith based organisations and community leaders held at the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) hall in Abeokuta, Ogun State governor’s wife, who is also the chairperson of SDCC, said that her team had unanimously agreed to adopt more strategies to rid the state of drug abuse.

Represented by Dr. Olufunke Oyeneye, she charged all stakeholders to up their game in the fight against the menace.

Emphasising the importance of team work, the chairperson said: “Team work, which means together everybody achieves more, should be considered so we can rid our state of drug abuse. I urge you to cash in on the use of social media to reach our youths.”

In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Sports Development, Wasiu Isiaka, while applauding the inter-agency engagement of the committee members, called for further sensitisation, with a charge on them to sustain the drive with the urgency it deserves.

In his welcome speech, the state NDLEA boss, Tijjani Rabe, who was represented by his deputy, Ekwu Eucheria, stated that “arrest and seizure of illicit substances within the state is a sobering reminder that the challenge remains real and urgent.”

According to him, in 2024, the state command seized 12 tonnes of cannabis sativa, arrested 687 suspects made up of 572 male and 115 female and counselled 406 drug users with 221 convictions secured.

“In 2025, 395 suspects were arrested, while 186 were counselled with 97 convictions secured. Eight tonnes of cannabis and various quantities of other psychotropic drugs were seized,” Rabe said.

He revealed further that “this statistics align with the national drug use survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which revealed that the highest abuse of drugs is recorded in the southern geopolitical zones, with the South-West having the highest prevalence. This is worrisome.”