Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.), has urged families to take proactive steps to prevent drug abuse among children, including keeping home drug test kits and watching for early warning signs.
“It is better to detect drug use early, when intervention is possible, than to wait until it develops into full-blown addiction,” Marwa said in Abuja at the DEPOWA Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Competition 2025. He called drug abuse “a societal menace” that steals ambition and extinguishes hope, adding that every young person lost to addiction is “a national loss.”
Marwa praised the event’s sports-based prevention focus and the theme “Live Free, Stay Clean,” noting that sport should reward discipline, hard work and integrity, not shortcuts or performance-enhancing drugs. He urged schools to establish drug-free clubs and pledged NDLEA support for sustained prevention programs.
Appeal to parents and schools
- Parents/guardians/teachers: Stay close to children, pay attention to behavior changes, and use early screening tools when necessary.
- Schools: Create or strengthen drug-free clubs, integrate awareness campaigns, and partner with NDLEA for training and materials.
Addressing students directly, Marwa said: “Use sports as a healthy outlet, build resilience, and stay drug-free. Saying no to drugs is saying yes to your future.”
Mrs. Oghogho Musa, President of DEPOWA, said the competition is a sport-based intervention designed to empower secondary school students through engagement, awareness, and positive peer influence and to turn schools into hubs of drug-free leadership.
Marwa concluded by framing prevention as a shared responsibility: families, schools, communities and government must work together so that Nigeria’s youth can thrive drug-free and fulfill their potential.
