The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has been commended for its intensity in the fight against drug abuse amongst youths especially in the tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) of Kwara State University, Professor Moshood Jimba made the commendation while speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State in North Central Nigeria.
While speaking about the school’s effort in mitigating the problem of drug abuse, he said “We as a school, are trying our best to tackle the problem of drug Abuse on our campus especially through the intelligence gathering mechanism.”
He lauded the Anti-drug Agency for its initiative of taking the war on drug abuse to schools of higher learning, as universities are now doing drug tests for their students.
“We want to thank the NDLEA for the initiative of taking the war on drug abuse to schools, now our Universities are doing drug tests for their students. As a matter of fact, KWASU is the second University in Nigeria to start that programme.
“We recently held a flag-off ceremony of the drug test programme, organized by the Kwara State Government in collaboration with the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)” he said.
The Don said that the school has tested over 500 students on the first day of the drug test which he said is an effort to identify those who are abusers of drugs and mitigate the problem of drug abuse.
“This is an effort to identify those who are abusers of drugs and anyone who is caught using through the test will be taken for counselling and rehabilitation, the counselling is free while the cost of the rehabilitation will be shouldered by the family of the students.
“On the day of the flag off, over 500 students were tested and the few of them that tested positive for drug use are now undergoing counseling as we speak.” he said.
Jimba however assured the students and prospective applicants that even if they are caught to be abusers of illicit drugs, the school is not going to drive them away, rather they will counsel them or rehabilitate them if it is so needed.
He added, “We’ll try our best to make sure that the future of our students is assured, we will have to nip the problem in the bud.”
He expressed his gratitude to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State for his support in the fight against drug abuse amongst youths.
The newly appointed DVC, while speaking on his new position, described it as “a very challenging one because when you’re the second in command to someone, you can sometimes be overwhelmed because you have many people to serve but you are responsible to your boss, who is the Vice Chancellor.
“I’m heading several committees in the school and all the assignments that you are given, you’ll want to give it your all to achieve success.”
He however credited the good relationship he is having with the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lukman Jimoh for the smooth running of his responsibility as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the school.
“My boss, the VC has made us understand that we’re a team and we need to work in synergy for the growth and development of the school, the cordial working relationship and healthy working environment have made my work easier,” he said.
Speaking on the perennial financial challenges facing the institution, he said, “We have financial challenges and just like every other institution in the country, but we thank Allah the Almighty for giving us prudent leadership, otherwise things would have gone out of control.”
Jimba, who is also the Chairman of Kwara State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board noted that the payment for 2025 Hajj is going to be closed very soon.
He expressed optimism that the quota of Kwara State will be filled up before the final closure payment.
Jimba, a Professor of Arabic who recently received the highly coveted Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding in Qatar for his scholarly exploits, urges students of Arabic in the country to take inspiration from his modest achievements.
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