The chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); Mohammed Marwa, has suggested drug tests for youth corps members when they resume for the mandatory one-year national service in their various orientation camps across the country.
The chairman made this statement at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, June 8, while hosting the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Fadah, and his management team.
Marwa said, “There is the need for a drug test for our youth corps members as they report at the orientation camps.
“Once they know there will be drug test at the camps, they will abstain from it. The whole essence is to ensure help gets to those who test positive early. This is part of our war against drug abuse initiative.
“We are determined to ensure drug-related cases in the country are changed, but we can’t do it alone, we need organizations like NYSC to reduce and control demand for drugs.
“Nigeria has insufficient rehabilitation and counseling centers. We need counseling centers in the primary health care centers at the grassroots, where we don’t have enough manpower to cover and this is where the young men and women of NYSC come in.
“We can train them in their numbers to serve as counselors at the grassroots level because the majority of drug users only need counseling,” he added.
The NYSC DG noted that he came on a courtesy visit to commend the efforts of the agency, and also seek support as orientation camps prepare to admit new corps members, The Punch reports.
What do you guys think? Will this curb the rate of drug abuse among the youths? Kindly share your thoughts with us