The Lamido of Adamawa, Dr Muhammed Barkindo Mustapha, has advised parents and communities across the country to take active steps to curb the growing menace of drug abuse among the youth.
The monarch gave the advice during the flag-off of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)’s Youths against Drug Abuse (YADA) stakeholders meeting in Yola, Adamawa.
The Lamido, who was represented by Alhaji Inuwa Baba-Paris, said, parents should serve as positive role models for their children because, “for many children, the most important role models are their
parents.
“Parents and caregivers should help to shape how children behave in schools, relationships or when making difficult decisions. They can always intervene by emphasising that those role models who embrace racism, sexism, drugs and alcohol abuse are not acceptable,” he said.
He advised parents to build positive relationships between families, schools, and community groups to enhance collaboration and information sharing on the conducts of their children.
The NAFDAC representative at the event, Mr Ibrahim Adamu, observed that the use and abuse of hard drugs were the main reasons why some
youths took to heinous crimes.
He said that YADA was one of NAFDAC’s intervention initiatives to curb drug abuse amongst the youths.
