– Campaigns against cultism, drug abuse
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Niger Delta Development Commission on Friday distributed e-learning tablets and smart school bags to the students in Rivers State, with a caution to youths in the region to desist from drug abuse and cultism, in order to safeguard their future.
The Commission in its campaign against cultism and drug abuse among youths Rivers State, said youths in the region must be stopped from engaging in social vices to enable them to harness their potential, contribute their quota in development and sustain the peace in the region.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, warned the youths to resist peer pressure and bad associations capable of luring them into abuse of substances and cultism.
Audu-Ohwavborua, represented by NDDC Director, Human Resources, Wej Alazigha, also appealed to parents to monitor the activities, movements of their children and the kind of company they keep.
“Drug abuse is a common phenomenon and Niger Delta is not exempted. Youths often take drugs because they may have seen family members take them. They may also have access to drugs and and are influenced by peer pressure.
“They may hardly come back to their normal selves. Don’t join bad gangs because your future is involved. If you get mentally sick, you have ruined your future. We must avert this menace.
“Students should not relate with their colleagues who have potential to take drugs. Parents should watch their children. It is their responsibility. Don’t leave it for teachers. Monitor their moods and their movements to know whether they have started taking drugs”.
Also, the Director of Youths and Sports at NDDC, Ephraim Offiong, said the Commission in partnership with Victoria Archibong Educational Foundation, selected secondary school students from across the state to attend the programme to catch them young by exposing them to the dangers of drug abuse and cultism.
Offiong disclosed that the students selected would become ambassadors of the commission in their schools and communities and assist the NDDC in curtailing the menace of drug abuse and cultism the Niger Delta region
“We want you to act as our global ambassadors. Take the message to everyone and let them know that drug uses are not good for the body. Avoid peer pressure.
“There is a strong connection between drug use and cultism. In some schools there are cult groups in them. These things will be inimical to you. It will destroy your future and will not allow you to make progress”.
Similarly, the Special Adviser on Youths and Sports to the acting Managing Director, Udengs Eradiri, said there was a need for youths in the Niger Delta to abstain from drugs and cultism and concentrate on the opportunities offered by the commission.
Eradiri warned the youths that indulging in drugs would erode their potential and called on them to take advantage of scholarship opportunities.
“Many scholarships are going on. As we speak people have been chosen ans about to be sent to abroad for their masters. So, if you don’t indulge yourselves in cult and and drugs, you will be great persons in future and also might be a partaker in the scholarship scheme of the NDDC.”
For his part, the Rivers State Director, NDDC, Imeko Orere Mecaiah, said the campaign was imperative, saying that beyond building physical infrastructures, the NDDC was also interested in human capital development.
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