An entertainers association, Creative Industry Group, has expressed concern over increasing rate of drug abuse among young Nigerians, describing it as an epidemic requiring an urgent response.
In a statement on Monday, CIG President, Felix Duke, said illicit drug consumption had reached troubling levels, fuelling crimes and risky behaviour that could harm youths and the country.
While acknowledging that some celebrities had been linked to drugs, Duke clarified that not all entertainers were involved in such a lifestyle.
He noted that some parents were responsible for initiating their children into substance addiction.
Duke urged parents to pay closer attention to their kids’ activities and friendships to curtail negative influence, adding that if the youth drug menace was not promptly addressed as a national priority, the consequences could be dire.
To raise awareness, CIG is organising a drug abuse conference on November 28, bringing together stakeholders to chart solutions to the crisis.
A roadwalk has also been scheduled for November 23 to drive public attention.
Duke said: “The current level of crimes will be a child’s play. This is not the time for everybody to lie down, facing one direction, where nobody cares about it but a few people.
“It has become an epidemic in our society that needs the attention of all.
“That is why we are using the body of entertainers, which is the creative industry group, to do this campaign to let the world know that hard drugs are bad.
“We will campaign to see how we can reduce our youths in the society from taking drugs to the barest minimum.”
He said CIG was taking the sensitization campaign to states, starting with Lagos, as part of efforts to significantly cut youth drug use, which he lamented had become widespread across Nigeria’s society.
“We are taking the campaign to other states; we are starting with Lagos,” he said.
The entertainers’ body emphasised the need for collaborative efforts between government, schools, security agencies, civil groups, and communities to tackle the destructive epidemic threatening young people’s future.
NAN
