Marwa Urges Traditional Rulers, Parents to Take Ownership of War Against Drug Abuse

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has called on traditional institutions, parents and community leaders across Nigeria to join forces with the Agency in tackling the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

The NDLEA boss made the call on Saturday while speaking as Chairman of the 10th anniversary of Akinale Day and the 1st Coronation Anniversary of Oba Oluseyi Ayodeji Adewole Adediran, Otileta I, Towulade of Owu Akinale, held at Baptist Primary School, Owu Akinale, Ogun State.

Marwa, who described his attendance as a pilgrimage of friendship, respect, and deep-seated admiration, recalled his close relationship with the monarch spanning 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 displayed as a youth leader now guide his one-year-old reign on the throne of Owu Akinale.

Turning to his primary mandate as NDLEA Chairman, Marwa warned that drug abuse does not discriminate, affecting rich and poor, urban and rural communities alike, and urged parents to return to core values of parenting by monitoring their children and watching for early behavioural changes. He appealed directly to youths to reject illicit drugs, describing substance abuse as a false escape that multiplies rather than solves problems.

The NDLEA boss further charged the Royal Council and community leaders in Owu Akinale to establish community-based advocacy networks to make the town a hostile environment for drug peddlers while providing support for those struggling with substance use dependence. He stressed that the Agency cannot win the war against drugs without the partnership of traditional institutions and monarchs who understand youth dynamics.

Speaking against the backdrop of recent discovery of Nigerian-Mexican cartel operated industrial scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in the forests of Ogun and Oyo states, Marwa urged royal fathers and community leaders in the southwest and the country as a whole to pay attention to activities of strangers in their forests, adding that those seeking to buy farmlands in rural communities must be properly vetted.

The event was attended by dignitaries including political leaders, prominent traditional rulers and others.