The
last time I painstakingly checked, intake of hard drugs and other related
substances had been formally recognized as an illicit act in Imo State, the
Eastern Heartland. Hence, there was apparently a strong and impassionate move
to end the behaviour which was described as societal menace.
The
Executive Governor of the state in the person of Chief Rochas Okorocha made
this known on Tuesday, 16th January 2018 during his New Year meeting
with the stakeholders of the ruling party – the All Progressives Congress
(APC). According to the number-one citizen, drug abuse which is now found among
the greater percentage of productive youths in the state and Nigeria in
general, had become a great concern to the Rescue Mission government, hence the
need for him and his team to act fast towards eradicating the cankerworm.
In
view of the aforementioned worry, the governor therein – precisely at the Imo
International Conference Centre (IICC), the venue of the event – outrightly set
up an ad-hoc committee to handle the situation. The team, which is headed by a
woman, has a Deputy Chairman in charge of each senatorial zone in the state.
Aside inaugurating the committee, which was described as long overdue, the
people present at the occasion applauded the governor for finding a lady worthy
to super head its activities.
Consequently, the state’s House of Assembly
led by Acho Ihim disclosed its readiness to back the governor on his seeming
candid quest to clamp down on the derailed homosapiens. The legislators in
their view opined that such manner of attitude deserved no pity or mercy, hence
the need to decisively end it before it ends the state’s existence. Owing to
their understanding, they unanimously agreed to tender a bill in that regard
with a view to passing the said social crusade and the penalties accruable to
defaulters into law.
The
least I would say over the government’s intent to initiate a war against all
forms of drug abuse in the state is that, it is a welcome development. I was
told by my beloved dad that the best and fastest way to terminate the future of
an upcoming young man is to expose him to hard drugs. In my father’s opinion,
intake or consumption of illicit drugs “does absolutely nothing good to the
body of any man than to keep him/her busy doing nothing”. The octogenarian may
not be a philosopher by profession but I grew up to see him as one.
However, each time I perceive such
pronouncement as was made by Chief Okorocha, the first thing I invariably try
to ascertain is the sincerity and determination that accompanies it. It’s not
anymore news that overtime several governments at all levels had come up with such
mantra but eventually ended up doing virtually nothing.
Even as the Assembly has drummed its
support for the cause, the question remains; how prepared are the lawmakers to
treat the forthcoming bill as a priority? You never can tell if the bill would
take over a calendar year to be passed into law let alone assenting to it by
the executive arm. In other words, the House must be willing to consider its
scale of preference for such an anticipated laudable law to see the light of
the day.
So, if the Okorocha–led administration
is truly desirous to kick against drug abuse, the political will must be worn
like a clothe. And mind you; you cannot aptly end the consumption of any
substance if there’s no action taken to stop the dealers or distributors from
doing so. It suffices to say that, firstly, the government needs to checkmate
how those unwanted substances enter into the state on a daily basis.
Also, if there’s anywhere they are produced
in the state, there must be measure to ensure that they are distributed only to
the quarters where their need is not illegal. It’s noteworthy that most of the
substances in question are essential raw materials needed in the day-to-day
manufacturing of some vital products required for our everyday use; but when
taken raw, it becomes a problem to the human system.
It is needless to state that they were
not originally provided to be consumed raw by any individual regardless of his
or her physical ability. The primary intent of coming up with such substances
was to make use of them in various production firms such as breweries,
distilleries, and pharmaceutical companies, among others.
On the other hand, my dad equally told
me that the best thing that would happen to a man is to have a good job; and to
a woman, a good husband. This analogy implies that a young man occupied with a
good job would always be mentally busy doing something meaningful, thus
wouldn’t have the time to indulge in other uncalled activities or mingle with
bad companies. I concur explicitly with this theory.
Against this backdrop, successive
governments are requested to endeavour to ensure that their teeming subjects
are meaningfully occupied, job wise. All over the globe, there is nowhere it is
the responsibility of any government to create jobs for the overall citizens.
But it is the statutory duty of every government to create enabling environment
that would spur the citizenry to become useful to themselves, and that of Imo
wouldn’t be an exception.
Creation of enabling environment simply
means providing those necessary facilities or social amenities that would
encourage people to invest their hard earned monies as well as enable talented
individuals to commercialize their respective patents with ease. When
prospective private investors invest in the state, several Imolites cum
residents would be greatly opportune to be gainfully employed.
It is therefore needless to assert that
the Imo government must, in addition to ensuring that drug abuse is drastically
alleviated within the four corners of the state, endeavour to wholly do the
needful in respect of governance. Think about it!
Comrade
FDN Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri
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Twitter: @mediambassador
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