Mrs Magret Julius, President and Founder, Eye opener youth and women foundation, has called on the need for all to reach out to those engaged in any form of drugs abuse with love and care which would go along in saving their lives.
Julius said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Thursday that one of the major reasons that triggers her to embark on campaign against drugs abuse is to save lives of young people, “because one of the work that pleases God is saving lives,” she said.
She said Nigeria in 1999 was not like what is visible today in terms of drugs usage among youths and young children.
While narrating what encourages her started carrying out campaign against drugs abuse and tobacco smoking, she said “One day, I was in a room and I heard people shouting and when I got there I saw a young man of about 30 years, he was half dead, convulsing, suffocating and the parents where not around, so we had to rush him to hospital” “I told the doctor that the young man was into drugs because I know him and may be he took something that over powered his system so the doctor quickly intoxicated him immediately and saved his life.
He was revived within a short period of time.” “After two years when I left that area the same thing happened to him and no one was there to help him out that was how the man lost his life “ “Within me, I say if everybody can reach out to this people with love and help we can save so many lives.”
According to her, the organization has been reaching out to youths and young people, children and parents to create awareness on dangers of using illicit drugs, giving them 100 reasons on why they should quit drugs.
She said the campaign lays more emphasis on “no to tobacco usage” because most people started with tobacco before switching to the higher susbtances. Mrs Julius said the NGO has successfully introduced tobacco abstinence clubs in some schools in Kaduna.
She said the organization has kicked off the drugs abstinence club at federal cooperative collage and the club has already been inaugurated in Kaduna and will soon be spread all over secondary and primary school across the state.
She said the organization is going to introduce drugs abstinence clubs across all schools in Kaduna. “
Because we need to reach out to most of the children and tell them why they should not engage themselves in drugs and the children need to know at early age so that they will grow up with this in their mind that drugs is harmful to human liffe,: she stressed.
She also called on parents who engage in taking tobacco to quit the vice, because “If you are a parents, please help your children and quit because most of these children grow up and see their parents taking drugs and they think it is a good habit”. (NAN)
