CRISA Symposium: Gen Marwa, Onofiok Luke, others advocate treatment for substance use disorders instead of incarceration
As Nigeria and other countries globally, continue to battle the problem of endemic substance trafficking and use especially amongst young people, stakeholders have advocated for a medical approach to tackling substance use disorder as against punishment and incarceration obtainable presently.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 5th Biennial Symposium of the Center for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA) held in Abuja, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohammed Buba-Marwa, disclosed plans to establish six standard rehabilitation centers, one in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country.
Brigadier General Buba-Marwa who was the Special Guest of Honour, noted that substance use and substance use problems around the world, including Nigeria was on the increase in terms of the proportion of the world’s population.
He noted that findings from the National Drug Use Survey (2018) conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), revealed that 14.4 per cent or 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15-64 years had used a psychoactive substance in the past year, for non medical purposeses, meaning that one in seven persons has used some substance, other than alcohol and tobacco.
According to him, “more worrisome is the finding that among every four drug users in Nigeria, one is a woman. Above findings of the survey by the UNODC gives a troubling portrait of drug abuse in Nigeria and we can no longer live in denial that Nigeria has a thriving ilicit drug culture.”
He therefore said the construction of three of the standard rehabilitation centers will start next year as already proposed in the 2022 budget.
Also speaking, the Chairman on the occasion, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke expressed worry over the trend of substance abuse but stressed that
treatment provides the best alternative for minimizing and eventually stopping the drug abuse and criminal activity cycle.
Onofiok Luke who is the Chairman House Committee on Judiciary noted, “it is now common knowledge, and there is growing awareness, that there is increasing indulgence of our populace in the injurious pastime of hard drugs consumption, with the highest levels of drug use recorded among people aged between 25 and 39 years.
“The statistics are scary, to say the least, considering the impact of drug use on the economy, productivity, the gross domestic product (GDP), crime, law enforcement and governance. The situation should raise concerns among policy makers and among parents, most of whose children are vulnerable, and could slip into the unhealthy drug consumption vortex.
“Of course there is a broad consensus that many crimes committed in our society involve individuals who are under the influences of either alcohol or drugs. In other words, there is a nexus between both drugs/alcohol and crime. The immediate predictable response as it were, should be punishment. But has this response been effective these past decades?
Research and very delicate studies have yielded interesting results, indicating that most drug users who were incarcerated, did not return from supposed correctional facilities better than they went in, whereas those who were committed to treatment facilities turned out with more positive outcomes; most were likely to kick the habit.
“This has strengthened the conclusion that treatment provides the best alternative for minimizing and eventually stopping the drug abuse and criminal activity cycle.
The above situation should impel government and policy makers to make available funding to establish treatment facilities and to support and expand existing ones like the Drop-in-centres, which were earlier initiated and supported by the European Union/United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (EU/UNODC),” he added.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Director, Center for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA) Prof Isidore Silas Obot said the national symposium on Drugs and Drug Policy in Nigeria was the fifth in a series of biennial events that was launched in 2013 in Uyo.
He noted that the theme of the 2021 symposium, “Substance Use, Addictive Behaviours and COVID – 19,” is a delibrate effort to focus attention on the link between psychoactive substance use and a pandemic that has wreaked havoc and continues to inflict pain across the world, including Nigeria.
In his words, “during the pandemic, we have seen a spike in opioid overdose and related mortality; harmful use of alcohol has been reported in several countries, and people with substance use disorders are more likely than others to develop COVID-19 and experience worse outcomes.”
The Executive Director maintained that while there is no clear picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance abuse in Nigeria, the symposium presents a veritable platform to know more about the situation from the research papers that will be presented and discussed.
On the CRISA 30th anniversary, Prof Obot said CRISA was founded in Jos in 1993 and has grown to become a leading NGO on drugs in the continent, adding that apart from organising conferences, it also engaged in research, publishing, treatment of substance use disorders, training and consulting.
The event witnessed the unveiling of anniversary publication titled, “CRISA 30 Years of Impact” and cutting of anniversary cake.
The Special Publication is edited by two media resource experts:
Anietie Etteyit and Anthony Udoh.
Also present at the opening ceremony which took place at Reiz Continental Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria were, member Board of Trustees of CRISA, Justice Theresa Obot; founding members of CRISA; Professor Andrew Zamani, Professor James Girei, Professor Nyitor Shenge,Dr Gloria Karuri and Dr Akanidomo Ibanga.
The Keynote Speaker was Professor Abdu Wakawa,a Consultant Psychiatrist.
