The wife of Lagos State governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has solicited accurate data on drug abusers in Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu said this on Thursday in Lagos at a discourse entitled: “Drug abuse and its effect on youths, domestic affairs and economic development”.
She said that accurate data on drug abusers would give the state the opportunity of correcting foreigners who could give wrong data on drug-related activities in Lagos State.
She said that she was passionate about the war against drug abuse in the state.
She also noted that she had set up a committee on drug abuse issues to work with National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other stakeholders.
In her view at the discourse, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole, Head of Editorial Operations, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), advised that the youth ought to use their period productively.
Omowole also advised participants to stay away from drug abuse and admonished participants not to lure them into substance abuse.
Mr Abubakar Liman, the Lagos state Commander of NDLEA, said that there were three stages of drug abuse — experimentation, occasional use and regular use.
Lima, who was represented by Mr Innocent Adinna, an assistant commander in NDLEA, said that the causes of drug abuse were peer pressure, frustration, broken homes, curiosity and lack of parental support or guidance, among others.
He said that the “effects are harmful to the society, weakens immune system, among other negative impacts on the users”.
He said “there are prevention strategies that the NDLEA has puts in place such as intervention, sensitisation and enlightenment”.
Also, the convener of the discourse, Mr Abdulhakeem Abd’Rasaq, said that it was aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in the society.