The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has attributed the rise and cause of criminalities in the country to drug abuse.
The Director General of NOA, Dr. Garba Abari, stated this yesterday at a one-day sensitisation workshop for stakeholders on the dangers and consequences of drug abuse in the society held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.
Abari said that experience has shown that drugs were often associated with virtually all anti-social behaviours bedeviling the country.
Abari, who was represented by the State Director of NOA, Mr. Enoh Uyoh, said the period of yuletide was usually laced with increased activities that were not in tandem with core values that promote the corporate existence of the nation.
He said incidences of drug abuse among the general public, especially the youths, have become a source of worry to the Nigeria.
The NOA boss noted that nearly all crimes were associated with the use of drugs and should be discouraged by all citizens.
The director general said in view of the decline in moral standard across the nation, there was need to re-awaken the consciousness against such vices in other to nip the looming consequences in the bud.
He said: “As an agency of government involved in community mobilisation in its programme implementation, experience has shown that drugs are often associated with virtually all anti-social behaviours bedevilling the country.
“It is the enabler and the trigger of crimes and criminalities such as; political thuggery, banditry, political and religious radicalism, kidnapping, violent extremism, armed robbery, vandalism and wanton destruction of government infrastructure.”
He urged parents to pay attention to their children upbringing and called for all hands to be on deck to check drug abuse, stressing that clerics should instill moralities to their adherents.
He urged members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicion of drug abuse to law enforcement agencies for prompt action.
Earlier, the State Director of NOA in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Enoh Uyoh, urged stakeholders to treat drug abuse as a menace that has affected all facets of life.
Uyoh said that drug abuse has been the main cause of insecurity and youth’s restiveness in the country.
He appealed to stakeholders to take the workshop serious and disseminate the outcome to their communities and the general public.
