A former vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Shuaibu Oba AbdulRaheem, OFR, has advised the Federal Government to establish an outpost of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in higher institutions across the country in order to stem the rising waves of drug abuse among the nation's youth population.

Speaking with journalists on the adverse effects of the prevalent drug abuse among Nigerian youth in Ilorin, Professor AbdulRaheem, who is also a former Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), said that the fight against drug abuse in higher institutions of learning should not be left to the school management alone.

Rather, he said that the fight must be fully complemented by the active support of the government.

“I think it is time not to leave the security and monitoring of miscreants in the university to the management alone. I would have dared to challenge the government to establish a duty post for NDLEA in every institution so that they monitor and nip in the bud any suspected behaviour, which is likely to snowball into the kind of things we are hearing today,” he said.

The renowned academic, who is also the Talba of Ilorin, added that “it is a bit saddening that our higher institutions have become, regrettably, dens of miscreants, drug addicts, and anti-social behaviour. It is not something that started yesterday; it's been a long time coming, and I think the government must wake up to its responsibility.”.

While expressing his dismay over the rate of drug abuse, among other social vices in higher institutions of learning, Professor Abdulraheem urged the authorities of each of the institutions of higher learning to be “vigilant in the selection of students, screening of students for admission, and monitoring that they live decent, disciplined, and drug-free lives.”.

He added that it was high time that the entire nation rose to save the lives and future of the younger generation of its population. He added that the young people needed to be properly monitored and guided at this time, more than ever before, as he said that the nation may be living on a keg of gunpowder if nothing is done.

Professor AbdulRaheem, who also served as the pioneer Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Kwara State University, Malete, however, noted that the problem transcends the tertiary institutions as it began right from the lower level of education as well as from home.

“It looks like things have come to an extreme situation now, beyond what the university administrator, the Vice Chancellor, or other people can control, because the character moulding process does not start in the university. There are things that are carried over from the lower rungs of education—the primary school, the secondary school, the home,” he said.

The elder statesman added that it is the duty of the parents and guardians to monitor their children and discourage them from engaging in anti-social activities like drug addiction and fraud, as they are dangerous for their future progress.

Addressing the youth, Professor AbdulRaheem explained that the perilous activities they engaged in always looked alluring to the ignorant young people, but they never knew that such tendencies were actually dangerous for their future progress.

The former Vice Chancellor also noted that law enforcement agencies should be allowed and empowered to perform their duties, and justice should be allowed to take its course in order to prevent others from following in the footsteps of the culprits.

Professor AbdulRaheem said, “I think law enforcement should be allowed to take its course. If the culprits are found culpable, they should be punished according to the law and be made examples to others who are likely to follow in their footsteps.”.

The erudite scholar noted that community leaders also have a role to play in monitoring the upbringing of children in order to eradicate drug abuse as well as other social vices in society.

“There must be some community efforts to monitor the growth and direction of the lifestyle of young people. In the past, it used to be collective and communal that we trained our children together. A neighbour can also monitor the child of a neighbour in order to prevent the child from becoming a menace.

Professor AbdulRaheem noted further, “The community leaders should be concerned about the health of the community and the mental, physical, and infrastructure health of the society. They must be attentive at all times to the nuances of life around them and their environments. So, traditional rulers have a duty as family members to cater for the other family as much as they would for themselves and their own families.”.