WINNING THE DRUG WAR

Lagos - Once again, the International Narcotics Control Report just
released by the United States Bureau for International Narcotics Law
Enforcement Affairs (INL) has listed Nigeria among the countries that
give vent to global drug trade. For this persistent embarrassment to
cease, pragmatic, result-oriented steps should be taken by Nigeria to
check the activities of drug traffickers.

Given the rather precipitate sack of the immediate past chairman of
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Bello Lafiaji, in
December last year, the current shameful rating of the nation is
hardly surprising. Under the administration of Lafiaji, the agency
achieved fanfare and showmanship instead of the reduction, if not
elimination, of transactions in hard drugs. Ironically, while NDLEA's
self congratulation was on, the 2005 report of INL pencilled down
Nigeria, South Africa and Liberia as the African countries to be
accorded primary focus. Nigeria specifically got the knock as a place
"in which illicit narcotics and money laundered from South America
enter into Europe, Africa and Asia."

One factor that makes this drug problem unsettling is the length of
time Nigeria has invested in the war. In 1984, former Head of State,
Muhammadu Buhari, and his team passed a retroactive decree
prescribing the death penalty for drug trafficking. That draconian
law was supposed to demonstrate the regime's resolve to sanitise the
nation's global standing that had been rubbished by drug peddlers.
And since then, successive governments have not failed to register
their own contributions to the campaign. Yet, the situation has not
improved. Worse still, after committing ernormous resources to
confronting the matter, de-certification has continued to elude the country.

This is why INL's accusation that NDLEA operatives only arrest "low
level traffickers and mules while drug lords are assisted to make
huge shipments to Europe and the US" should not be waved aside. Also,
its indictment of Abuja as being unable to identify and bring to
justice top officials who are patrons of the illegal business should
be given the serious attention it deserves.

These allegations must not be treated lightly because the
international community would respect and take as authoritative,
insinuations and conclusions made by reputable organinations like the
INL. Stretching that reason a bit further is the fact that in a world
where image defines such terms as acceptability and foreign
investment, nothing should be spared in working out sustained
worldwide goodwill for Nigeria.

And the way to accomplish that is not through denials and other
defensive devices often employed by government in its public
relations outings. Rather, a sincere probe should be instituted to
fish out the senior officers who are said to use their positions to
undermine the investigation and prosecution of drug barons. If
culprits are found, they should be made to face the penalty to serve
as deterrent to others with similar intentions. No responsible
government would sit back and ignore claims that its own agents
subvert such a critical assignment.

If, on the other hand, INL's alarm turns out to be false, government
should use its information dissemination arsenal to counter the wrong
impression. The reputation of this country has already suffered
enough degradation. That is why the negative verdict of INL should
not be taken with philosophical calmness if it proves to be false.

Over all, it must be noted that the effects of hard drugs on
individuals, families, institutions and the human race in general are
too weighty to be trivialised or politicised. Since Nigeria has
become a recurring decimal in the transportation of these harmful
products, government should, once and for all, block the loopholes
and clip the wings of those who are determined to ruin the lives of
others so they could get rich with ease. The name of Nigeria and the
lives of its citizens, can and must be narcotics-free.