By Olakunle Oke
Alarmed by Nigeria’s rising drug crisis, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has called for urgent national support for a new Alternative Development Programme designed to end illicit cannabis cultivation while lifting rural communities out of poverty.
Marwa made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja, following the successful launch of Africa’s first Alternative Development drug-control pilot in three Ondo State communities Ilu Abo, Ifon and Eleyewo describing the initiative as a people-centred intervention that strengthens national security while providing lawful livelihoods for farmers.
He said the programme goes beyond replacing cannabis crops, noting that it also boosts food production, reduces crime, eases pressure on law enforcement and promotes peace in previously drug-prone areas.
Calling it a “win-win solution,” Marwa urged federal and state governments, traditional rulers, development partners, private investors, civil society groups and the media to rally behind the initiative for nationwide expansion.
He revealed that host communities in Ondo warmly embraced the project, with local leaders expressing renewed confidence in government and hope for a better future through legal farming and economic empowerment.
Painting a grim picture of Nigeria’s drug problem, the NDLEA boss cited the 2018 National Drug Use Survey, which showed that over 14 million Nigerians use psychoactive substances, more than twice the global average, with cannabis topping the list.
According to him, about 10.6 million adults use cannabis yearly, while nearly 8,900 hectares of land in the South-West alone are under illegal cultivation, often controlled by organised criminal networks supplying both local and international markets.
Marwa warned that the crisis threatens public health, youth productivity and national security, noting that cannabis accounts for over 75 per cent of the 15 million kilograms of illicit drugs seized by NDLEA in the past five years.
He, however, expressed confidence that the Alternative Development Programme would reverse the trend if properly supported, assuring Nigerians of the agency’s commitment to expand the initiative nationwide in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.