The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Niger State Command, has urged principals to fight against substance abuse among secondary school students in the state.
Commander of NDLEA in the state, Musa Bwalin, made the appeal at a sensitization programme organised for secondary school principals in the state on drug abuse, on Monday in Minna.
Bwalin said that the programme was aimed at sensitizing the principals on drug abuse so that they could understand the danger inherent in it.
“As school principals, you are the custodians of our children and we, as parents, are always crying out that children are going wayward.
“So, as agency, we deemed it fit to call you here to understand what drug abuse is about. You are always with our children in school, but some of may not know what drug abuse is all about,” he said.
According to him, the agency saw the need to sensitise school principals on drug abuse to enable them play their roles in ensuring a safer and healthier educational environment.
He added that secondary school management was critical in both the behavioural and academic development of the youth, hence the need to equip them with the knowledge of substance abuse.
The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hadiza Mohammed, in her goodwill message, advised the principals to liaise with the agency’s reactive anti-drugs clubs in schools to curb the menace.
Mohammed, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Lawal Jibrin, urged the agency to extend the sensitization to all the secondary school principals across the state.