Mr. President, Before We End Drug Crimes, End Poverty
By As-Sayyidul Arafat Abdulrazaq,
Dear President Tinubu,
Nigeria’s fight against illicit drugs has made remarkable strides in recent years. Under the strong leadership of Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted tonnes of narcotics, dismantled criminal networks, and taken the fight directly to drug barons.
Their efforts are not only commendable — they are heroic. But, Your Excellency, while the NDLEA is arresting traffickers, burning cannabis farms, and championing the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), the deeper, more dangerous war remains under-resourced and under-acknowledged: the war against poverty.
Drug trafficking in Nigeria is no longer merely a crime. It has become a survival tactic. A symptom. A desperate response to broken dreams, chronic joblessness, hunger, and hopelessness.
Why else would young Nigerians risk imprisonment, disgrace, or even death by pushing meth, dealing Loud, or swallowing cocaine pellets just to make it onto a flight? Time after time, NDLEA press briefings echo the same confession: “I needed money.”
And that is the bitter truth. For too many Nigerians, crime is no longer a moral dilemma — it is a desperate means to stay afloat. Some even see it as the fastest, if not the only, route to prosperity. But these are not inherently evil people.
They are victims — not of personal failure, but of a system that has failed to offer meaningful alternatives. Each year, over 333,000 Nigerian graduates complete the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), filled with optimism, armed with certificates, and fueled by the hope of landing a good job or building a meaningful life.
But for most of them, the question comes quickly after service ends: what next? The job market offers no real answer. It is already overstretched, underdeveloped, and weighed down by a sluggish economy.
As industries shrink and inflation surges, young Nigerians are trapped in a cycle of waiting — waiting for opportunities that never arrive. In their frustration, many look for shortcuts. Some become drug peddlers. Others turn to cybercrime or join criminal networks.
These are not criminals in the true sense — they are stranded potential. They are the architects of tomorrow abandoned by the scaffolding of today. Your Excellency, awareness is as important as opportunity.
Many young Nigerians do not know what is possible simply because they have never seen it. Exposure is everything. There is a valuable lesson from the classic book, “The Richest Man in Babylon”.
In it, the king, tired of poverty among his people, summoned the wealthiest man and instructed him to teach 100 citizens the principles of wealth-building. Those 100 were then asked to teach others. Over time, Babylon flourished. It became a city of opportunity, not despair.
Nigeria can replicate this — but with a modern approach. Emerging industries such as technology, digital finance, logistics, blockchain, creative media, renewable energy, and agribusiness hold immense promise.
But the average Nigerian youth cannot access them. They remain locked out, not because they lack talent, but because they lack exposure, mentorship, and support. We must do more than just tell our youth to get off the streets.
We must show them where the roads lead. At the same time, those who are already building deserve support. Nigeria’s business owners, start-up founders, and innovators need policies that make it easier to grow.
They need reliable infrastructure, access to funding, tax incentives, and a stable environment that rewards creativity and grit. When these builders thrive, they employ others. The ripple effect is economic healing.
Your economic reforms — including the floating of the naira — were difficult but necessary. These are steps toward long-term stability. We acknowledge your efforts. In your recent Democracy Day speech, you spoke not just as a politician, but as a statesman with a vision:
“Our GDP grew by 3.4% in 2024, with Q4 hitting 4.6%… Net foreign reserves have increased fivefold… Over 100,000 Nigerians have benefited from consumer credit. This July, we will empower 400,000 young Nigerians, including corps members, with access to credit…”
These are not just statistics. They are signs of a country in motion. But the truth remains: drug abuse and trafficking will not end until economic desperation ends. We can learn from countries like Portugal, Uruguay, Colombia, and parts of Canada.
These nations reduced drug crime not merely by policing the streets, but by investing in people — through affordable housing, credit access, healthcare, skills training, and community services. When people have options, they stop choosing crime.
Mr. President, we are not asking for miracles. We are asking for a national strategy that matches enforcement with empowerment. NDLEA is doing the hard work of reducing supply. Let us, together, reduce the demand.
To make meaningful progress, your administration must double down on job creation, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Mental health services must be accessible, and addiction recovery centers must be expanded nationwide.
Our youth must be equipped through technical and vocational education, backed with access to startup capital. NDLEA should be empowered to do more than make arrests — it should be resourced to educate and prevent. Community transformation must become a collective mission.
Engage the states. Engage the people. Let your Renewed Hope Agenda touch the places where hope has vanished — in the slums, in the villages, in overcrowded schools and collapsing clinics, on the street corners where drug use is now a routine, not a rebellion.
Your Excellency, you once told Nigerians that “If you can cock a gun, then you can farm.” It was not just a statement — it was a call to redemption. We believed you. Now, help us believe harder.
If Nigeria is serious about ending the drug crisis, we must first end the poverty that fuels it. The NDLEA cannot arrest its way out of this. But your government can lead us out of the darkness. Let Renewed Hope be more than a slogan.
Let it become a shelter, a second chance, a reason to choose dignity over desperation. Let it be the light that reaches every forgotten corner of this country and tells our youth: we see you, we need you, and we will not leave you behind.
As-Sayyidul Arafat Abdulrazaq is a corps member serving with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), Abuja. He can be reached via: [email protected]
