Emeka Aginam
22 November 2008
At least, 238 Nigerian women are now in the United Kingdom prison over drug trafficking, a United Kingdom based non-governmental organization (NGO), Hibiscus, has confirmed.
Speaking at the re-launch of 'Bola get rich quick' campaign supported by the British High Commission in Nigeria, the Director of Hibiscus, Olga Heaven MBE, who disclosed this to newsmen during the capacity building event, said that women should not engage in drug trafficking because of the inherent dangers associated with it.
"There are more men in the business. They now use older women to do the business. The Nigerian government should take the campaign against drug trafficking seriously. The sad thing is that they are not getting away with it. Women play supportive roles in the family and should not engage in such dangerous activities. We urge Nigerian women and women all over the world to shun it. It is a global issue. It affects the global society," she said.
According to her, the family, the church, the media, NGOs and the society should be part of the campaign against drug trafficking, adding that countries of the world must come together to find a solution to reduce the trend to the barest minimum.
"The campaign involves Hibiscus working in partnership with the media, faith leaders, market women, NGOs, and other civil groups to raise awareness and strengthen the partnership against Nigerians acting as drug mules. The aim is to show that regardless of the level of desperation, acting as a drug mule is no guarantee of wealth or a improvement in living conditions," she added.
But speaking on the challenges involved in arresting these drug barons either trafficking from Nigerian to other destinations or into Nigeria, the Director, Operations, National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Baba Useni, said that it is very difficult to get the traffickers, adding that they even exchange drugs in the prison.
"These day, they do not come through the airports rather they go through other borders with Nigeria. Our major challenge is fund to sustain the campaign in the media. It is not cheap to carry out the campaign without fund. We will continue to wage war against drugs. That is the truth of the matter but everybody, especially, the church and the family must be involved," he said.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
It is sad but if the International community is not getting anything from the drug trade, they are capable of stopping it totally. Let us all join hands and fight it honestly. Most of the drugs is coming from South America. Nigriea is just a victim because reasoning is lacking.