By Gabriel Yough
The wife of Taraba governor, Mrs Anna Ishaku,
through her Hope Afresh Foundation, on
Thursday led women in the state on a campaign
against substance abuse in various locations.
Speaking at a sensitisation workshop at the
Taraba University in Jalingo, Ishaku said she had
received disturbing reports on the rate of
substance abuse in the state, which informed her
decision to personally lead the campaign against
the menace.
“Report reaching me indicates that there is one
drug addict per five households in Taraba, which
is unacceptable.
“As a mother, I felt disturbed by this
development and decided to lead the campaign
against this trend, which is rapidly killing our
future leaders,” she said.
Ishaku, who took the campaign to Government
Secondary School Mayo-Dassa, Jalingo, and
Jalingo Main Motor Park, urged the people to
“Say No to Drugs and Yes to life”.
She noted that the choice of the venues were
informed by the strategic role students and road
transport workers could play in the fight against
drug abuse.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Alhaji Haruna
Manu, commended the wife of the governor for
her efforts to rid the state of illicit drugs and
other social ills.
Manu called on the foundation to collaborate
with the executive arm of government to sponsor
a bill that will criminalise substance abuse in the
state.
Manu said the state government would also
consider an executive bill that would facilitate
the establishment of a rehabilitation centre for
victims of drug abuse to enable them live
meaningful lives.
He called on youths to resist the temptation of
taking to drugs as a solution to their problems.
The deputy governor also urged the private
sector to join hands with the government to
provide jobs for the youth, to keep them actively
engaged.
Earlier, the Assistant State Commander,
Operations and Intelligence, National Drugs Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr Peter Onche,
called on the state government to establish
treatment and rehabilitation centre for addicts.
Onche noted that a fully equipped centre with
skills acquisition facilities to cater for the victims
of substance abuse would help in no small
measure in mitigating the effect of the menace.
The NDLEA Taraba command decorated Ishaku
with the honour of Anti-Drug Amazon of the
state at the