NWDC TO INTEGRATE DRUG REHABILITATION AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT INTO NORTH-WEST DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The North-West Development Commission, NWDC, has pledged to integrate drug prevention, rehabilitation and youth empowerment into its regional development blueprint for the seven North-West states.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NWDC, Professor Shehu Ma’aji, disclosed this on Wednesday, September 9, in Kano during a courtesy visit by the Kano State Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Practices.
According to a statement by Abdulrashid Safana,
Director of Press and Public Relations at the Commission, Prof. Ma’aji stated that drug abuse has become a major driver of insecurity, poverty and youth restiveness in the region, and cannot be separated from the Commission’s development mandate.
“The North-West cannot achieve its development goals if a generation of our young people is lost to drug abuse. The data before us is alarming, and the link between drug abuse and the rise in gun violence is now clear to all of us,” he stated.
“At NWDC, our mandate is to rebuild the North-West. That means building infrastructure, but also rebuilding people. We will work with the Task Force and other stakeholders to expand rehabilitation centers, provide skills acquisition, and create jobs as alternatives to crime,” he added.
The MD further commended the Executive Governor of Kano State, Engr. Abba Yusuf, for establishing the Task Force, describing it as a testament to the Governor’s concern for youth welfare and development.
He assured that NWDC’s intervention will cover Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States.
The Commission also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, CSOs and parents to join the campaign against drug abuse, stressing that _“security and development must go together.”_
Briefing the Commission, the Chairman of the Kano State Multi-Agency Task Force, Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, said the Task Force recorded significant gains within 45 days of its inauguration.
He disclosed that the operations led to over 200 raids in vulnerableAbdulrashid Yusuf Safana, anipr
Director, Press and Public Relations communities, over 200 convictions with some offenders sentenced to up to 10 years imprisonment, and the recovery of dangerous weapons.
According to him, 120 of the most vulnerable offenders are currently undergoing rehabilitation in two correctional and reformatory centres.
“Government did not set up this committee only to arrest and prosecute. If we jail them for 10 years and release them back to the streets with no reform, we have achieved nothing. That is why we are removing the most vulnerable from the streets and putting them in reformatories,” Barr. Rimingado said.
The meeting was attended by NWDC Board Member representing the North Central, Engr. Rufa’i Ahmad.
