NGO steps up campaign against drug abuse, youth restiveness

By Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos

Parents were yesterday called upon to checkmate the activities of their children and wards, as youths have been fingered in the high consumption of drugs that has hitherto translated into youth restiveness and other social vices encountered in the state.

This appeal was made during a monthly security meeting organized  by a Non Governmental Organization, known as, Search For Common Grounds, founded by the European Union (EU), under the auspices of Peace Architecture Dialogue (PAD), to address the issues of security challenges that has engulfed Plateau in recent times.

Speaking at the forum, the guest speaker Mr. Salis Abdulsalam who is also the founder of ‘Face of Peace Global’, stated that the major factor militating against the breach of peace in the state, is the high consumption of illicit drugs by youths.

Abdulsalam, pointed to the fact that family values which is suppose to be inculcated to the youths by their parents and guidance, has lost its place, a situation which he described as conspiracy of silence by parents.

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His words, “conspiracy of silence promotes violence because parents do not talk to their children when they see them indulge in drugs, until it gets out of hand. He charged parents to cultivate the attitude of reporting their children to relevant security agencies when they see them indulge in unwholesome activities”, he said.

Responding, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Patrick O. Edung, decried the high level of illicit drug consumption among youths stressing that his command have in its custody a worrisome number of drug induced crime, ranging from Rape, Cultisim, Armed Robbery, etc. He however, fingered cultisim as another growing factor that is ravaging the youths, saying that youths go into cultisim out of curiosity.

ACP Edung called on government to provide employment to the teaming youths sighting unemployment as a major factor that stimulates youths into drug abuse and other social vices.

Those in attendance also includes  the Chief of Staff to the State Security Task Force (STF), Brig Gen. Abdulsalam B. Ibrahim, representative of Operation Rainbow, Ayuba Gokum and Representative of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Elizabeth Gowon.