NIGERIA'S DRUG STATUS

Lagos

The recent classification of Nigeria by the United States of America
(USA) as a transit camp for drug trafficking has once again thrown to
question the seemingly hard earned reputation and achievement the
country has recorded in battling the drug business in recent times.

Before the latest position, Nigeria had been de-listed as one of the
hot spots for drug trafficking due to the tremendous efforts of the
government particularly through the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA), in combating the crime.

The recent rating apparently goes to show that the country has
suffered reverses in the effort to free herself from the drug
trafficking entanglement.

Only last year, the same American government gave Nigeria a clean bill
of health. The country was certified a drug free nation. The latest
classification barely 12 months after the initial verdict gives
serious reasons for concern.

There is therefore the need for concerted efforts to unearth what must
have gone wrong in the fight against this cankerworm before it eats
deep into the fabric of our society. We must find out what went wrong
in the last 12 months to have changed the tremendous efforts that have
been made in the fight against drug trafficking.

That the country has largely been classified as a transit nation
clearly shows that we do not produce but provide the courier for drugs
from one destination to another.

This therefore places additional and enormous responsibility on the
NDLEA to continue to identify and shut down the inlets and outlets for
the illicit trade. They have tried hard enough but the latest
revelation shows that more has to be done to curtail the ingenuity of
the traffickers in beating security checks especially at the borders.

To effectively achieve this, the NDLEA and other security agencies
must be adequately equipped both in material and manpower to discharge
this enormous responsibility. The agency must be assisted in logistics
to be able to dislodge the crime perpetrators.

The effort is not to get the United States de-list the country once
again but to effectively discourage the possible consumption and
subsequent abuse of these dangerous drugs by our youths.

Apart from leading to mental sickness and other forms of
neuro-psychological imbalance, it also has a direct effect on the crime rate.

Since the youths largely constitute the productive sector of any
economy, no nation worth its salt can afford not to protect them from
possible destruction through the consumption and abuse of drugs. The
government should therefore not shy away from this reality.

Closely related to this is the matter of money laundering from the
proceeds of the illicit drug trade. This equally portends danger not
only for the economy but also for the polity.

The government must show more than a passing commitment if this war
must be won and the country's good image restored.

The United States verdict may not be the yardstick to determine the
government's achievements in this area but since we have acknowledged
them initially, we should not ignore the verdict delivered this time
around.

Instead the government through its agencies should do more to make the
country free from the grip of drug traffickers.