Pharmacists walk against drug abuse in Kwara

The Kwara chapter of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria staged a one-day sensitisation campaign against drug abuse with a walk on the streets of Ilorin on Wednesday.

Speaking at the side-lines of the campaign, Mr. Adejuwon Otelaja, the PSN chairman, said the campaign was organised to mark the 2022 PSN Week in the state.

He said it had become expedient to campaign against drugs and illicit substance abuse because of its deleterious impact on the future of the nation and on those who engaged in the vice.

“It is time to stem the tide before it became too late,’’ he said.

Otelaja said the society was working in collaboration with the NDLEA in the fight against drug abuse by enlightening the general public on the inherent dangers.

“We have walked around public places like markets and motor parks to speak to the people for them to understand the consequences of drug abuse.

“Drug abuse and misuse can lead to unfulfilled dreams and it is one of the major problems affecting the nation’s economy and productivity,’’ he said.

According to him, Kwara records the highest instances of drug abuse in the North Central geopolitical zone as the young, adults and the elderly alike, and even politicians abuse drugs to get a “sense of belonging’’.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes in its 2022 annual report placed Kwara’s rate of prevalence in drug abuse at 13 per cent of the population, he said.

Otelaja observed that some users abused drugs to get numb and to take away stress.

“The statistical figure of drug abuse in Kwara is worrisome and needs the intervention of all stakeholders,’’ he stressed.

Also speaking on the campaign, Malam Ibrahim Saidu, NDLEA’s commander in Kwara commended PSN for teaming up with the agency in the crusade against drug abuse.

He identified peer pressure and idleness as some of the causes of the increasing rate of drug abuse in Kwara.

He urged the PSN to increase its fight against the menace and advised that it could organise drug eradication programmes in communities and through the media.

Saidu also called for the establishment of counselling, treatment and rehabilitation centres for drug addicts in Kwara.

In her contribution, Mrs. Barakat Olanrewaju, Director of Pharmaceutical Services at Kwara Ministry of Health, said the state government had been at the forefront of the fight against drug abuse.

“Our main focus is to educate the youth and the elderly alike on the need to shun drug abuse,’’ she said.

She explained that the government was partnering with the ministries of Communication and Education and with tertiary institutions and other stakeholders to spread the campaign.

The PSN distributed fliers written in Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo languages during the walk.