By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mohamed Buba-Marwa, has called for increased mental health funding, warning that drug abuse and mental illness reinforce each other.
Marwa said treating drug abuse without addressing underlying mental health problems would leave the root causes unresolved.
“If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he said.
He spoke on Tuesday at the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference in Abuja, according to a statement signed by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
Marwa said many people treated for drug abuse at NDLEA rehabilitation facilities struggle with untreated depression, trauma and other emotional challenges.
“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,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman urged the government to increase mental health funding, recruit more professionals and integrate mental health services into primary healthcare.
He said mental healthcare must be affordable and accessible, regardless of people’s financial circumstances.
Marwa disclosed that more than 53,843 people had passed through the agency’s 31 rehabilitation facilities nationwide in the past five years.
He also highlighted the NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign, which targets young people in schools, tertiary institutions and communities.
The agency also operates a 24-hour toll-free helpline to support people experiencing drug-related challenges and their families, he said.
Marwa cited the agency’s work in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where families previously dependent on illicit cultivation received support to establish lawful livelihoods.
He said the NDLEA planned to expand the initiative nationwide, adding that sustainable livelihoods could help reduce poverty and strengthen communities.
He called for greater attention to the mental health needs of women, children and other vulnerable groups, including survivors of violence, displaced mothers and people living with disabilities.
Marwa urged the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors to work together to address drug abuse and mental illness.
He called on conference participants to fund effective interventions, expand successful community programmes and hold stakeholders accountable for results.
