Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have decried the loss of manpower and youth productivity to substance abuse, warning that the trend threatens Nigeria’s economy and regional development.
The NDLEA and ECOWAS championed the data-driven approach to drug abuse challenges in Nigeria at a capacity-building workshop in Lagos on Tuesday for Desk Officers of the Nigeria Epidemiology Network on Drug Use from the 37 NDLEA treatment centres across Nigeria.
The Director of Drug Demand Reduction of the NDLEA, Dr Ngozi Madubuike, said that the 2018 National Drug Use Survey revealed that 14.3 million Nigerians were using psychoactive substances, excluding alcohol and tobacco.
She added that 376,000 persons had drug use disorders and were in contact with treatment centres.
“These are mostly young people between 25 and 39 years old. When such people are on drugs, it affects everything that has to do with the nation. They are in their productive years, and when they are not productive, it impacts the economy,” she said.
Madubuike warned that the economic toll of drug abuse would worsen if the trend was not tackled urgently.
“When you have low productivity from young people, or they have mental or health issues, or engage in social vices, they won’t be productive. It will affect the economy. Drug trafficking also affects local producers because traffickers conceal drugs in goods and sell them cheaper than genuine businessmen,” she said.
The Head of the ECOWAS Drug Prevention and Control Division, Dr Daniel Amankwaah, stressed the need for credible data to fight the drug menace.
He explained that the West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use relies on country-level networks like NENDU to track drug trends, emerging substances, and their consequences.
“Drug abuse is linked to terrorism, violence, and crime. If we reduce drug abuse, we will reduce these challenges. The manpower loss alone is a major economic factor. We are losing young people with good brains who could have driven regional development,” Amankwaah said.
He noted that ECOWAS would provide laptops, desktops, scanners, and photocopiers to NDLEA centres to strengthen data collection and transmission.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, represented by the NDLEA Director of Drug Demand Reduction Madubuike, said that the NENDU system was vital in generating timely and reliable data to inform drug prevention, treatment, and policy.
Marwa stated that in a rapidly evolving drug landscape, the need for timely, accurate, and actionable data has never been more critical.
“The quality of data you generate directly impacts national planning and policy,” he said.
GIK/APA