By Abuja, Nigeria
The Chairman of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has urged a stronger national response to the country’s illicit drug problem, calling for broad support for a new alternative development programme aimed at curbing cannabis cultivation and improving security.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Marwa said the initiative recently launched in three cannabis-growing communities in Ondo Stat, marks the first such project in Africa and represents a shift towards people-centred drug control. He said the model goes beyond crop substitution and is designed to strengthen rural economies, reduce pressure on law enforcement agencies, promote social cohesion, and support food production.
Marwa described the pilot projects in Ilu Abo, Ifon and Eleyewo as evidence that the approach works when communities are “engaged, supported and empowered”. He called on federal and state authorities, traditional institutions, development partners, the private sector and civil society to back the initiative, adding that communities affected by illicit cultivation must embrace lawful and sustainable livelihoods.
The NDLEA chief said Nigeria’s drug problem demanded an urgent, coordinated response, citing data from the 2018 National Drug Use Survey which showed that 14.4% of people aged 15 to 64—around 14.3 million Nigerians—had used psychoactive substances in the previous year, more than twice the global average.
He noted that cannabis, remains the country’s most widely used illicit drug, with about 10.6 million users and nearly 8,900 hectares under cultivation in parts of the South West.
Marwa warned of the public health and security risks posed by widespread cannabis use, particularly among young people, and disclosed that over 75% of the 15 million kilograms of illicit drugs seized by the NDLEA in the past five years were cannabis.
Expressing confidence that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, he commended the international organisations and partner countries supporting the pilot phase. These include the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development, and the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in Thailand, along with participants from more than a dozen countries.
