Retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, the Chairman and Chief Executive of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned new cadets of the agency against taking bribes from drug barons.
Marwa gave the warning at the passing out parade of Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics Course 15, 2021 on Friday in Jos.
The chairman urged them to resist all forms of temptation that could make them compromise rules of the agency.
He reminded them that they were coming into the agency at a time when the institution is being overhauled to make it more effective and efficient.
He added that their four months training at the academy must contribute towards meeting the agency’s goals of ridding Nigeria of drug abuse and trafficking.
“You are coming into the agency at an auspicious time when the management has pushed the reset button and commenced the overhaul of the old system and its encumbrances.
“Your employment coincides with a time we are putting in place all that is necessary to foster the enabling work environment that makes a career in the NDLEA gratifying.
“Having been given the necessary training, we expect you to make your presence count with impactful contributions to the achievement of the agency’s objectives in its campaign against abuse and trafficking of illicit substances.
“Qualities such as loyalty, discipline and diligence would help you to have a fulfilling career in a paramilitary organisation such as NDLEA.
“Let me also bring to your awareness how important you are now to the society; only very few occupations afford an individual the opportunity of direct, meaningful impact on society’s wellbeing.
“You are part of a community of custodians who are assigned the responsibility of safeguarding society’s sanity and safety against the corrosion of illicit substances.
“Today, I charge you thus: do not disappoint the agency, and the society at large, and more importantly, do not disappoint yourselves, ”he said.
Marwa acknowledged that the cadets would be faced with temptations from the dark world of drug barons and their cartels, but warned them to remain upright and patriotic at all times.
“I will not down play the fact that the world of illicit drugs is a dark, dangerous underworld that must be met with uprightness, patriotism and strong will.
“This is why we are working purposely to put in place a welfare package that will shield you from circumstances or conditions that may predispose you to compromise your duties and responsibilities.
“Your upbringing and the training you have undergone should imbue you with the moral fibre to withstand the lure of filthy lucre, which is the weapon of drug barons.
“In whatever circumstance you may find yourselves in the course of your careers, think first about the greater good and always remember that traffickers, barons and cartels are opposing forces with whom you must not have any communion whatsoever.
“As you take the first major step as anti-narcotic agents, I wish you a successful, fulfilling career in the NDLEA,” he said.
Marwa said that Friday’s passing-out parade coming barely seven weeks after the passing out of Narcotic Assistants in September, was yet another phase in the rapid evolution of the agency in the last 32 years.
He said that the fight against the production of illicit drugs, trafficking and abuse was being reinforced with the passing-out of the new officers into field operations.
The NDLEA boss thanked President Mohammadu Buhari for the support he had been rendering to the agency and called for more in order to win the war against drug abuse and trafficking.
He commended the resilience and commitment of the commandant of the NDLEA academy and other staff of the agency for making the passing-out parade a success.
He urged them to keep the spirit of hard work to stem the tide of drug peddling and consumption of illicit substances in the country.
Marwa said that the 1,978 new cadets would be deployed to the 774 local government areas of the country in order to curb drug abuse in the rural communities.