The Agege/Alimosho chapter of the National Association of Seadogs, otherwise known as Hawkins Deck, has taken the campaign against drug abuse to secondary schools with a warning to pupils to stay away from illicit drugs.
President of Hawkins Deck, Mr Shola Ajayi, gave this charge at the Millennium Secondary School in Egbeda, Lagos as part of activities to mark the 2023 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with the theme, “People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, strengthen prevention.”
Represented by the 2nd Vice President of the chapter, Mr Otomi Diemiruaye, he said according to a recent world drug report, 35 million people worldwide suffer from drug abuse disorders.
While noting from the report that the number of opioid users has reached 53 million, in 2017, no fewer than 585,000 people died from drug use with opioids causing two-thirds of the deaths.
Ajayi encouraged the pupils to desist from all acts of drug abuse and illicit drug abuse.
Also speaking, a representative of the Lagos State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr Akinola Dayo, stressed that about 1.4 million of these people who are involved in drug abuse also live with HIV as a result of illicit drugs.
“About 5.6 million of them have hepatitis C. Sadly, the severity and complexity of the world drug situation are only getting worse. Prevention and treatment measures across the globe continue to fall short. Only one in seven people with drug use disorders get the treatment they need.
“Illicit trafficking of drugs is also a huge problem throughout the world. This is due to the growing market for illicit drugs in East Africa and the entire African continent.
“In addition, frequent international flights, inadequate trafficking controls, and corruption amongst customs officers only compound the problem of illicit trafficking. As drug abuse and illicit trafficking become more prevalent, this day becomes more important,” Dayo said.
Hawkins Deck gifted science writing materials to 10 students of the school drawn from SS2 and SS1 for their excellent academic performance.
The Principal of the school, Mrs Familoye, thanked the National Association of Seadogs and NDLEA for the awareness lecture and the gifts presented to the pupils.
The pupils promised to take their studies seriously and shun all vices that would lead to drug abuse.
