Backed By MTN & NDLEA, Hundreds Of Youths March Against Drug Abuse In Enugu

Hundreds of students, educators, and community leaders took to the streets of Enugu on Saturday, June 14th, for an Advocacy Walk Against Drug Abuse, marking a pivotal moment in the fight against Nigeria’s growing substance abuse crisis.

The walk commenced and concluded at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Campus Three. This was done in partnership with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as part of the Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP).

The event is part of a wider awareness campaign aimed at tackling substance abuse among Nigerian youths; a demographic particularly affected by the drug epidemic.

Pamela Emodi, Manager of Youth Development, reinforced MTN’s commitment to preventive action through education and consistent advocacy. ” ASAP targets youths aged 10 to 25 through a comprehensive, multi-sector approach.

Since its launch in 2019, ASAP has reached more than 91 million Nigerians. In 2024 alone, the programme engaged 27,000 students and 450 teachers across 55 secondary schools in 12 states, providing counselling through the NDLEA 247 psychosocial health desk. This year, we aim to train 86,000 students and 1,500 teachers in 12 additional states, organise more advocacy walks in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano, and hold stakeholder conferences in Abuja and Lagos,” she said.

According to the NDLEA’s Enugu State Commander, Abel Wadahi, who Deputy State Commander John Oga represented, over 400,000 people in Enugu alone are currently struggling with drug abuse, most of them young. “The youth bear the brunt of this menace, which is why we are focusing our efforts on them,” Mr Wadahi said. “We want to empower them as ambassadors to bridge generational gaps and help eradicate drug abuse.”

He identified peer pressure, curiosity, and social experimentation as leading causes of drug use, with cannabis, marijuana, and the increasingly popular and dangerous mkpurummiri (methamphetamine) being the most widely abused substances in the state. “Mkpurummiri is especially dangerous, causing mental health disorders and leaving many users vulnerable on our streets. Urgent intervention is critical.”

Also speaking at the event was David Folaranmi, Enugu State Coordinator for the International Society for Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP), who described substance abuse as a national development crisis. “The data confirms what we see on the streets.

This problem is not going away without coordinated action. We need more of what MTN and NDLEA are doing here today.”

The walk is one of several key activities planned across states, including Lagos, Abuja, Kano, as part of the 2025 ASAP calendar. With support from key stakeholders, including the NDLEA, the Ministry of Education, and frontline NGOs, the ASAP campaign utilises advocacy walks, school-based interventions, and digital storytelling to address the root causes of youth substance abuse.