Former Federal Commission Boss Advocates NDLEA Stations in Varsities

Former Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Professor Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem, has urged the Federal Government to establish the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stations in higher institutions across the country to holistically wage war against drug abuse among the youth.

AbdulRaheem said this in Ilorin while addressing journalists about the adverse effects of drug abuse prevalent among youth.

The call came in the wake of the alleged NDLEA-inspired raid on the campus of Kwara State University, Malete, recently.

AbdulRaheem, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, noted that the fight against drug abuse in higher institutions of learning should not be left to the school management alone but with the active support of the government.

“I think it is time, not to leave the security the monitoring of miscreants in the university to the management alone. I would have dared to challenge the government to establish a duty post for NDLEA in every institution so that they monitor and nip in the bud any suspected behaviour, which is likely to snowball into the kind of things we are hearing today.

“It is a bit saddening that our higher institutions have become, regrettably, dens of miscreants, drug addicts, and anti-social behaviour. It is not something that started yesterday, It’s been long coming, and I think the government must wake up to its responsibility,” he said.

While expressing his dismay over the rate of drug abuse amidst other social vices in the higher institutions of learning, he urged the school authorities to be “vigilant in the selection of students, screening of students for admission, and monitoring that they live decent, disciplined, and drug-free lives.

“The one that happened recently in KWASU is a bit disturbing, and that calls upon the entire nation to rise, to save the lives and future of our children, because unless they are properly monitored and guided at this time, we are likely to be living on a keg of gunpowder in the future.

“It looks like things have come to an extreme situation now, beyond what the university administrator, the vice chancellor, or other people can control, because the character moulding process does not start in the university. Some things are carried over from the lower ranks of education, the primary school, the secondary school, the home,“ he said.

AbdulRaheem also noted that law enforcement agencies should be allowed to perform their duties and justice should be allowed to take its course to prevent others from following in the footsteps of the culprits.

“I think law enforcement should be allowed to take its course. If the culprits are found culpable, they should be punished according to the law and be made examples to others who are likely to follow in their footsteps,“ he explained.