Laments use of drug addicts as body guards
by leaders
…Afenifere, Osuntokun back Sanusi’s call
…Senate working to tackle drug abuse menace
— Saraki
…N4.1bn drugs burnt in Kano; problem
continues — Deputy Gov
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, has
called for a law to compel Nigerian political
and religious leaders, including lawmakers,
governors and traditional rulers, to undertake
drug test.

According to him, leaders in the country
condone the use of illegal substances by their
bodyguards and thugs.

Sanusi, who made the call at the opening of a
two-day Senate Roundtable on Drug Abuse
Epidemic in Nigeria, organised by the Senate in
Kano yesterday, said he would be happy to
subject himself to same test.
He said: “I will be happy to subject myself to
drug test. We deceive ourselves if we say we
are not part of the problem. 90 per cent of
issues that we have, flourish due to lack of
political will.

“Anybody who an element of drug abuse is
found in him should quickly resign his position
because he is not fit to hold public position.’’
He said it was hypocritical and amounted to
mere talk for a governor or senator or any big
political office holder, to speak against drug
abuse in the society, while having highly
drugged thugs as his body guards moving
around freely.
“Today, it is better to be a drug baron on the
payroll of a political leader, than to be a legally
recognised security man, which means we
must clean our acts before trying to achieve
anything.

Drug addicts as body guards

“Political leaders employ and support drug
addicts as body guards, despite their unlimited
access to established security agencies, both
public and private.”
He said he was “very ready and happy to be
subjected to drugs test. And if I am found not
worthy of being emir, I will quietly resign
because the matter is bigger than what we are
talking about.”
The emir noted that several laws are in the
books to fight drug abuse but lamented that
they are not being implemented.
He said: “If we are not implementing these
laws in the books, what assurance do we have
that new ones will be implemented?
“The trade in illicit drugs is a protective trade,
and we must ask, who are those involved in
this? How many rehabilitation centres do we
have? How well equipped are they ready for
the challenges; how many capacity
development centres do we have? I think we
must answer these questions for us to make
headway.
‘’Like I always say, if you don’t want to hear
the truth, don’t invite me. Our major problem is
that we are not implementing the laws we
have for regulating drugs.
‘’We have guidelines on who is allowed to sell
drugs and who to sell the drugs to, but we are
not following these guidelines.”

Senate to tackle menace — Saraki

In his remarks at the roundtable, Senate
President, Bukola Saraki, said the Senate is
pushing for laws that will tackle the menace of
drug abuse in the country because of its
concern for the future of younger generations
of Nigerians.

Saraki, who noted that the National Assembly
decided to take decisive actions against drug
abuse in Nigeria through the roundtable, as
part of moves to finally tackle the menace,
said: “If we continue to be a society that
ignores laws and do as we wish, we are not
far from being a failed state.
“But in the Senate, we are firm in ensuring
that what is right is done to protect the
nation. We want to see here before we finish
the two-day roundtable in Kano that some
pharmacies are closed down for violating the
rules. Then we will know we are serious about
it.”
According to him, the main purpose of the
roundtable is to send a message that there
was hope in actualising a drug-free society.
“There is no sense in calling agencies to fight
drugs when we are not funding them. It
doesn’t make sense. We must make a
commitment that we are ready to do away
with these problems. We should not be
discouraged in the fight, as political leaders,
we must have political will in the fight.”

N4.1bn drugs burnt in Kano

Deputy Governor of Kano State, Prof. Hafiz
Abubakar, said drugs worth N4.1 billion had
been confiscated and burnt in the state, while
another seizure worth N1 billion had been
made and the suspects arrested.
Professor Abubakar said: “As you know, Kano
has the largest share of all the challenges,
considering our population and commercial
base, but we have just one rehabilitation
centre.

“The government set up task force to track
the drug abusers and arrests were made.
Drugs worth N4.1 billion have already been
destroyed, but I can tell you, this has little or
no significant effect from what is on ground.
So, we need federal government’s support.”

It’s a good consideration — Afenifere

Throwing its weight behind the Emir, the pan-
Yoruba socio political organisation said it was
a good consideration.

Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr
Yinka Odumakin said: “It is a good
consideration because most of the actions
that our public office holders exhibit at times,
we wonder if they are not under influence. I
think it will be good for them to take such drug
test and ensure that drug is not one of the
things we would not be dealing with in those
who are ruling us.”

There’s logic to his concerns – Osuntokun

On his part, Mr Akin Osuntokun , former
Political Adviser to ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo said: “Well I don’t know whether the
Emir has any specific reference in mind but
given the ways and manners of a number of
characters in public office there’s logic to his
concerns. For instance it is next to impossible
to fathom a reason to what is happening in
Imo state. I’m almost certain that the
governor is not a drug addict but there’s
something unhinged about recent
developments in that state. Look also at
Donald Trump and his sparring partner in North
Korea. The leading American psychiatric
association has actually come out with a
publication on the subject of the mental
stability of President Trump.”

Recall Vanguard report yesterday, in which
the Senate had raised alarm three months ago
on the floor of the Senate that the 19
Northern states of the federation are under
serious threat due to drug abuse, stating that
over three million bottles of codeine syrup are
consumed daily in Kano and Jigawa states.
It disclosed that across the 19 states, women,
young girls in tertiary institutions, working
class ladies, including married and
unemployed women displaced by Boko Haram
insurgency, among others, were involved in
drug abuse, and that in 2015 alone, over 2,205
people were arrested in North-West geo-
political zone by the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, over drug-related
abuses.

Consequently, the Senate mandated its Joint
Committee on Drugs and Narcotics and Health
to investigate the growing misuse of cough
and other prescriptive drugs abuse and report
back to the Senate on the needed legislative
interventions to combat the trend. The
senators stressed that secondary school
students consume cough syrups regularly.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/test-nigerian-leaders-drug-abuse-emir-sanusi/

Good idea but. . .

Who carries out the drug test?

Will the body be independent?

Will it be self funded or will the same government still fund it?

This would probably explain why a certain man from the SW believes in feeding the people's stomach daily than actually investing in that sector to make the people feed themselves and be gainfully employed.

cc lalasticlala cc mynd44

SLS is a wicked man. He wants to expose . . .

Ha Ha Ha . . . i can imagine FFK and many other Nigerian politicians pissing on themselves right now.

I agree with the Emir on this.

They should not only be tested for drug abuse,they should also under psychiatric evaluations.

Some of them are not mentally stable.

For instance,how can a governor choose to erect statues while civil servants and pensioners are owed for many months.

THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN MUST SET FORTH AT DAWN.

test Buhari first, na too much intake of drugs make am dey like walking dead