Some northern youths on Tuesday converged on Katsina where they charged governors and other northern leaders to adopt a more pragmatic approach to tackle drug abuse and trafficking in the North.

 

The youths specifically called for the “enactment of laws that will interdict drug smuggling thoroughly at the borders” and the “enforcement of strict and regular raid on people that hawk /sell prescription drugs to non-eligible buyers and the strict monitoring of those who sell illicit drugs to minors.”

 

The youths made the declaration shortly after they held a peaceful rally in Katsina which they terminated at the state office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

 

The youths, under the aegis of the “Drug Free Arewa Movement,” noted that drug abuse was robbing northern youths of their future.

 

Ibrahim Yusuf, who led the rally, urged the NDLEA through the support of the northern state governments and various stakeholders from the region “to intensify massive crackdown on illicit sources of narcotics and illicit drugs supply chains into the North and nip it in the bud.”

 

Yusuf also urged the state governments to “enact laws that will interdict drug smuggling thoroughly at the borders and promote international cooperation,” adding that the 19 state governments in the North “should establish the Drug War Trust Fund.”

 

He added, “We demand that the government of the 19 northern states should, irrespective of their cultural, economic and political differences, adopt the common goal and objective of curbing the production of and trafficking in narcotics and other types of drugs.

 

“They should strictly adhere to the principle of full cooperation with one another in their efforts to control the production and dissemination of drugs.”

 

Yusuf appealed to all stakeholders in the North including traditional rulers, religious leaders, state and federal legislators from the area, heads of educational institutions, teachers and lecturers, religious groups, union leaders, private and public schools and all security agencies to collaborate to reduce drug abuse and trafficking in the region.