*Says NDLEA rehabilitated 53,800 In 5 Years
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), has urged the Federal Government to prioritise psychological well being funding, personnel and community-led interventions.
Against the background rising considerations about drug abuse and psychological well being circumstances, Marwa mentioned that over 53,800 individuals have been rehabilitated by means of the company’s services within the final 5 years.
Marwa spoke in Abuja on Monday whereas chairing The Conversation Conference (TCC) 5.0 organised by Intersect Consortium to mark World Mental Health Month.
He mentioned he chaired the primary version in 2022 and has watched it develop into one of Nigeria’s largest gatherings on psychological well being, commending the consortium led by Dr. Vincent Udenze and its Chairperson, Hajiya Ammuna Lawan Ali.
“For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hiding behind shame and silence. In my work at NDLEA, I see the cost of that silence daily,” Marwa mentioned.
He mentioned behind many drug abuse circumstances is untreated ache, melancholy and trauma.
“A young person who found substance before finding help. Drug use and mental illness feed each other. If we only arrest symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he warned.
Marwa mentioned the convention theme – strategic investments, partnerships and community-led motion – displays NDLEA’s method.
He mentioned psychological well-being can’t thrive the place hopelessness and poverty drive individuals into hurt. In three pilot communities, NDLEA labored with residents to construct legit livelihoods for households who as soon as relied on illicit drug cultivation, with plans to scale to different geopolitical zones.
“When people have hope, income and a stake in their future, stress eases, families stabilise and communities grow resilient. These were solutions designed for communities, not imposed on them,” he mentioned.
On prevention, Marwa cited the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) marketing campaign reaching younger individuals in faculties and campuses early and with out judgment, and the company’s 24/7 toll-free helpline the place a frightened teenager or anxious mom might be heard for gratis.
“Over 53,800 persons have passed through our rehabilitation facilities across Nigeria in the last five years. Behind that number are parents and kids who return to families and people who return to school and work,” he mentioned.
He lamented that media focuses on arrests, seizures and forfeited property, not on counselling and rehabilitation.
Marwa mentioned psychological well being financing should be on the centre of nationwide planning.
“Mental health cannot remain the poorest relation in our health budget. Every naira spent on prevention, trained personnel and accessible treatment returns to us in productivity, safer communities and stronger families,” he mentioned.
He referred to as for extra psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, group well being staff and integration of psychological well being into major healthcare in order that nobody travels tons of of kilometres to get assist.
“Financing must also be equitable. Care that only the well-off can afford is not a system, but a privilege,” he added.
He mentioned deal with ladies and kids was proper. Women carry unseen load of households, typically struggling in silence and surviving violence, together with displaced moms and ladies with nobody to show to. Children take up stress of houses lengthy earlier than they will identify it.
“The same is true of persons living with disabilities and families displaced by conflict. A system that does not treat them is not yet inclusive,” he mentioned, noting that when mom, baby and family are supported collectively, restoration lasts longer.
Marwa mentioned no single ministry can deal with it alone, urging synergy amongst well being, training, safety, justice and social welfare ministries.
Earlier, Hajiya Ammuna Lawan Ali mentioned TCC grew from a single-day gathering right into a motion, now in its fifth version. She mentioned this 12 months’s version asks what conversations should result in.
“Mental health does not begin in a hospital. It begins in the home, the school, the workplace and community. That is where people experience stress, loneliness, trauma and exclusion. It is also where support and early intervention can begin,” she mentioned.
She urged strengthening of trusted first contacts – members of the family, lecturers, spiritual leaders, group leaders, major well being staff – and connecting them to skilled companies.
Managing Director of Intersect Consortium, Dr. Vincent Udenze, shared story of Elizabeth, a mom from Kwara State who produced a first-class graduate however was discovered stark bare on the road, her baggage stolen, individuals throwing issues at her.
He mentioned he gave her meals and took her to his facility the place she was handled and regained her well being.
Marwa urged contributors to decide to financing what works, scaling confirmed group fashions, placing ladies, kids and weak first and making help-seeking an act of braveness.
“Let TCC 5.0 mark renewed commitment so that mental health becomes integral part of national development agenda and access to quality care is reality for all, not privilege for few,” he mentioned.
