The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency is to inaugurate three new model rehabilitation centres before year ends. 

The Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said this during an interview on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said that the agency was no longer scratching the surface, adding that the agency was getting to the root of the problems associated with drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

He said that there was hardly any community in Nigeria that did not have a problem of substance abuse saying awareness and advocacy helped in curbing to the barest minimum.

According to him, this is why there should be a whole level of awareness across the country.

He said, “That’s why the agency brought on board the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiatives to mobilise everybody, be you, families, faith-based organisations, community, all strata of society to get involved in this whole thing. We are having three new model rehabilitation centres coming up this year which will be inaugurated soon. This shows you that the leadership of this country is well informed about the problems of drugs in Nigeria and he is giving great support to NDLEA. We are glad about that and the partnership the agency is having with other organisations and institutions. Drug abuse is a global challenge. We don’t have time to waste and that’s why we are running faster and driving hard to ensure that we respond to the global challenge.’’

Speaking on the renewed initiative of the agency, Mr Babafemi said that the whole essence was to drive awareness towards drug testing.

President Bola Tinubu launched the “Save Our Families Campaign” initiative to strengthen the fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking on June 26.

Mr Babafemi said that there was a need for parents to also take ownership of their children’s upbringing.

He said that the agency had provided thousands of test kits that could be used in the home and offices among others.

According to him, one does not have to get into a facility before one uses the test kits, like people sit in their homes and test for diabetes, pregnancy and others.

“Don’t forget that the family is the smallest unit of society and more often than not, that’s where some of these problems start from. So, if we are trying to get to the bottom of it and to solve the situation, we also have to go back to the family level to get, mobilise parents, to get them to start parenting , to take ownership of the upbringing of their children.

“Parents need to be intentional in parenting. We have definitely gone beyond that and apart from that, you have also seen that NDLEA keeps coming up every day and every time with new strategies. We simplify the process so that parents can now get their homes to check whether their kids are into substance abuse. This is for early detection.

“When you discover it early, you can then quickly seek help because at the early stages of substance abuse, it’s easier to tackle to treat than when it becomes a state of addiction, then it becomes complex and complicated. That is to show that indeed we are making progress. One of the things the “save our families campaign” solve is prevention.’’

(NAN)