The Asagba of Asaba, Obi (Prof) Chike Edozien, has charged youths of the community to intensify their crusade against the abuse of drugs and illicit substances.
The Asagba gave the charge on Tuesday while laying the foundation stone of an Anti-Drug Intersection Monument at Umuezei village, being constructed by the Asaba Community Youth Council (ACYC), as part of a weeklong activity preceding his 99th birth anniversary.
Obi Edozien, represented by the Ozo Okita of Asaba, Chief Noble Egbuiwe, noted that drug abuse had become a common phenomenon in Asaba, thereby throwing age-long moral values among youths to the wind.
He commended ACYC for rising to the challenge and urged the body to go all out to stamp out the ugly trend and restore sanity to the community, assuring that the Asagba-in-Council would give the youth organisation the needed support.
The President-General of ACYC, Ogbueshi Obodo Okediachi, who reflected on the good old days when moral values were inculcated in the youths by parents who devoted quality time to the upbringing of the children, regretted that drug abuse had infiltrated the community, with its devastating effects on the youths.
Ogbueshi Okediachi said the development was unacceptable, more so when it was alien to the community and vowed that the Youth Council would collaborate with the security agencies to save Asaba youths from the menace of drug abuse.
He solicited the support of well-meaning individuals and organisations towards the completion of the roundabout project and the campaign against drug abuse,
In his remarks, the Vice Chairman of ACYC and Chairman, Planning Committee of the foundation laying ceremony, Dr. Victor Amuwah, said beyond the aesthetic value of the Anti-Drug Abuse monument, there would be sustained efforts to curb the menace of drug abuse in the community.
Dr Anuwah stated that it eas disheartening to find people with glowing future shrink in health and prospects because of their addiction to drugs and other substances, which he maintained were hydra-headed monsters that must be ripped in the bud.
He explained that the sponsorship of the project was from the collective contributions of the youth body and called on well meaning individuals and organisations within and outside Asaba to assist in completing the project scheduled to be commissioned in two months time.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Oshimili South Youths (OSY), Comrade Vincent Oba, corroborated earlier speakers and pledged the support of the entire Oshimili South youths for the anti-drug abuse campaign in order to adequately sensitize the public on the dangers of drug abuse and other social ills.
For his part, the Second-in-Command, Asaba Area Command of the Nigeria Police Force, SP Augustine Ebohon, dwelt on the long-term consequences of drug abuse on the health of victims, and pledged the readiness of the police to synergize with the ACYC in eradicating the scourge from Asaba and indeed the state at large.
In a presentation on “The Dangers of Drug Addiction to Youths and the Society”, Dr. Chidindu Idika advocated aggressive awareness campaign programmes, good parenting, political will, and employment opportunities as veritable ways to tackle drug abuse in society.
Dr Idika commended 9ACYC for the Monument project, which he said would serve as an eternal reminder to the consciousness of youths and residents about the dangers of drug and substance abuse.
Other speakers, including Chief (Engr) Christopher Chukwurah and Mr. Bielose Oba, commended the Asagba for his purposeful leadership, which had led to the steady development of the Asaba community since he ascended the throne in 1991.
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