Ganduje task civil society groups on fight against drug abuse

Kano state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has asked civil society organisations in the country to get involved in the fight against drug abuse which has been on the increase in recent times.

Ganduje who spoke through his deputy, Dr. Nasir Yusuf Gawuna while receiving an award of commendation for consistency in people friendly policies from the Civil Liberties Organisation said government alone should not be left to carry on with the fight, stressing that credible civil society group should get involved in the fight.

The Governor lamented the involvement of women of women in the sale of hard drugs to young Nigerians, adding that it is unfortunate that those involved in drug abuse are charged to court, they find their way back into society the following day.

He said: “There is the need for human right organisations to get involved in the fight against drug abuse. The human rights community in the country will have to do something about this social vices and not only on issues pertaining government. We should do something because it has to do with the welfare of our people because that is what these organisations are being formed to tackle.

“When the Commandant of the NDLEA in Kano spoke, recently, I was touched when he said that the people selling those drugs are women. It meant that women are deeply involved in this issue of drug abuse. It is unfortunate that when you arrest these people and take them to court, you find them roaming the streets the following day.

“Government alone cannot fight this scourge. The human rights community has to do something because until we all get involved, these issues will not go away.

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“There are other issues too that the human rights community should get involved in and not just allow government to be the sole decider. Organisations like this that are credible and has served humanity for long should get involved.

“The other area is in the area of funding education. Government alone cannot fund education and there is a growing sentiment especially in the area of contribution to PTA and people now feels that government in commercializing education.”

He said the award to him has come to stay and will not do anything that will make you withdraw the award, adding that he was ready to collaborate with the organization in all areas.

In his remark, President of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Igho Akeregha said that the Organisation has been monitoring the activities of the Kano state government for the past two years and were convinced that he has found the state remaining consistent in its policies that are people-friendly.

Akeregha said that the decision to award the Governor was in pursuant of CLO’s Democracy and Governance mandate where the Organisation examines governance at the local, state and national levels, pointing out that this was the first time the Organisation was giving such recognition to anybody in the Pu pic service.

He said: “It is important to mention that the CLO was founded on October 15, 1987 with clear mandate to pursue democratic advocacy, human rights monitoring and education, gender rights, police and penal reforms, pro-bono litigation, documentation and research.

“Indeed, over the years, the Organisation has positively discharged this mandate culminating in the return to democracy in 1999. The role, the CLO played in finally consigning the military to the barracks and keeping them out of public governance is not only legendary but well documented.

“In the last five years, the CLO has continuously reviewed its operations and strategies to make it more dynamic and adaptive to the dynamics of modern democracy. To this end, the Organisation is engaging democracy stakeholders and holding them more accountable to the people.

“Those who have utilized public offices to the benefit of citizens will now be commended while political demagogues and profiteers are to be named and shamed. We regularly evaluate democracy deliverable using international benchmarks as measurement.

“The CLO has beamed its focus on Kano state in the last two years and monitored the progress being made by the state government in Internationally stipulated MDGs and SDGs and found the state remaining consistent in its policies that are people-friendly.

“Therefore, the state emerged as most considered, given its size and population in key deliverables in the areas of education, health, infrastructure, justice sector reform, peace and security.

“The Board therefore chose to recognize the leadership of the state with a Certificate of Good Public Service as a way of encouraging the state government and placing it on the radar of progressing states in Nigeria.”

He reminded the governor that it may be forced to withdraw the award should there be observable lapses and drawbacks after this honour in defense of its best tradition of trust and credibility.