The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has warned that arrests alone cannot address Nigeria’s drug abuse problem without tackling underlying mental health conditions, poverty and other factors that contribute to substance use.
Marwa said untreated depression, trauma and psychological distress were often associated with drug abuse, stressing the need to complement enforcement with prevention, rehabilitation and accessible mental healthcare.
“If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman spoke on Tuesday at the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by the Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, where he called for increased investment in mental health services and stronger collaboration among relevant sectors.
According to him, the agency’s experience in treating people with substance use disorders shows that some cases are linked to emotional and psychological challenges that go unnoticed or untreated.
“For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hidden behind shame and silence. In my work at the NDLEA, I see the cost of that silence daily.
“Behind many cases of drug abuse is untreated pain: depression nobody noticed, trauma nobody addressed, a young person who found a substance before finding help. Drug use and mental illness feed each other,” he said.
Marwa, who chaired the first edition of the conference in 2022 and its third edition, said the gathering provided an opportunity to move mental health discussions beyond awareness to practical action.
He urged the government to increase funding for mental healthcare, warning that the sector could no longer remain neglected in the country’s health budgets.
He called for more psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and community health workers, alongside the integration of mental health services into primary healthcare facilities to improve access to treatment.
Marwa also stressed the need to make mental healthcare affordable, regardless of patients’ financial circumstances.
“Care that only the well-off can afford is not a system, it is a privilege,” he said.
Marwa advocates community-based solutions
Addressing the conference theme of strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action, the NDLEA boss said poverty and hopelessness could worsen the conditions that expose people to drug-related harm.
He cited the agency’s intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where residents who previously depended on illicit cultivation were supported to establish legitimate livelihoods.
Marwa said the initiative demonstrated the importance of working with communities to create sustainable economic opportunities, adding that the agency planned to expand the model nationwide.
“When people have hope, income and a stake in their future, stress eases, families stabilise and communities grow resilient,” he said.
He called on development partners and other stakeholders to support the expansion of the initiative.
The NDLEA chairman also highlighted the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which targets young people in schools, tertiary institutions and communities through drug prevention and awareness programmes.
He said the agency’s 24-hour toll-free helpline also provides an avenue for people experiencing drug-related challenges and their families to seek assistance.
Over 53,000 people treated in five years
Marwa disclosed that more than 53,843 people had received treatment at the NDLEA’s 31 rehabilitation facilities across the country in the past five years.
He said the figure represented thousands of people given an opportunity to recover and rebuild their lives.
“Behind that number are fathers returned to their families and young people returned to school and work,” he said.
Marwa further called for greater attention to the mental health needs of women, children and other vulnerable groups, including survivors of violence, displaced mothers, girls without adequate support, persons living with disabilities and families affected by conflict.
He said recovery was more sustainable when support extended beyond individuals to include their families and households.
The NDLEA chairman stressed that tackling mental health challenges and drug abuse required coordinated action across the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors.
He commended Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was represented at the conference by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia as Special Guest of Honour, for his support for mental health advocacy.
Marwa urged participants to commit to funding effective interventions, expanding successful community-based programmes, prioritising women and children, and holding stakeholders accountable for results.
“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” he added.