The Acting Director General (DG) of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mr Kunle Obayan, has said that substance abuse is fast becoming inimical to skills acquisition training and employability of Nigerians especially the youth.
Speaking at a one-day seminar with the theme: Substance Abuse: An Impediment to Gainful Employment, organised by NDE in Abuja, Obayan lamented that substance abuse, which has crept into the Nigerian workforce, professionals, house wives, students and in all segments of the society, is adversely affecting productivity and service delivery.
He said: “The challenge of substance abuse is threatening the Labour Force, and it brings about industrial losses and low productivity and creates conducive atmosphere for all manners of anti-social behaviour like armed robbery, kidnapping, sexual violence among others.
“It equally creates an unfavourable environment for any form of human capital development such as skills acquisition for self-employment. Therefore, we are gathered here to sensitise the general public especially our youth on the dangers of substance abuse and its negative implications on the affected persons in particular, the society and the economy at large.
“Substance abuse in all ramifications is an evil wind that blows no society and economy any good. There is no country that attains or achieves economic growth when large proportions of her population are into substance abuse.”
The acting DG further disclosed that the directorate was ready to collaborate with governments and other stakeholders to fight the menace of substance abuse.
“The NDE which was established about three decades ago primarily to provide employment opportunities for the teeming unskilled and unemployment persons in Nigeria is aware of the herculean task of jobs provision in the country.
“Evidence abound that the directorate is working assiduously through its four core programmes; Vocational Skill Development, Small Scale Enterprises, Rural Employment Promotion and, Special Public Works to ensure sustainable employment for jobless Nigerians.
“Our efforts at creating a new Nigeria through attitudinal re-orientation and change for self-employment is a task that must be dutifully confronted by all and this cannot be achieved without the cooperation of other stakeholders in the employment creation space like Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), the National Assembly, State Governments, NGOs, etc as well as players in the private sectors,” he said.
According to him: “The NDE is ready to widen the scope of her collaboration in this regard to include the law enforcement agencies in setting up counselling sessions on regular basis in our Job Centres located in our state formations nationwide including the FCT.
“Let me appeal to our stakeholders in the print, electronic and online media, to join hands with us in this effort by promoting through their various channels the culture of abstinence from the abuse of dangerous substances. Plans have been concluded to provide hotlines as well as links on the NDE website for real time interaction with the general public and other enquiries relating to this intervention.”
The Kaduna state Governor, Nasiru El-Rufa’i, who was chairman of the occasion, said it was alarming that no city in Nigeria today can say it is free from substance abuse.
He noted that the abuse of drugs and other harmful substances especially in Northern Nigeria is a sorry tale, stressing that: “It is now time to begin to seek realistic solutions to mitigate the destructive outcomes of abuse of substance because no employer of labour, either in the private or public sector will knowingly employ someone battling with drug addiction.
“In Kaduna state, we have created a bureau to fight substance addition, with appropriate legislation and protocols for referral and treatment of persons with substance abuse issues.
“Let me at this point urge all relevant stakeholders in Nigeria to work together to effectively tackle the scourge of substance abuse. The NDLEA, the Nigeria Police and indeed other security agencies need to synergise to fight drug addiction and substance abuse.”