Nigeria removed from the list of main drugs
The United States of America finally removed Nigeria from the list of major drug trafficking countries for the first time since 1991. President Barack Obama announced that the reason for removing the country’s name from the list was because it no longer met the criteria for the list. under US law.
Until now, Nigeria was considered an important transit point (although not a producer of opium or other related drugs) for narcotics from Latin America to the United States of America. Placing the country on the top drug list actually dented its image for a long time. The government of this country did everything humanly possible to reverse the ugly trend and improve the image of the country that was already plagued by corruption.
However, countries such as Afghanistan, Bahamas, Bolivia, Myanmar, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela are on the list. . this year.
The Nigerian government addressed this issue with all the seriousness it deserved, using a pragmatic approach; to ensure that the country was not only removed from the US government’s black book, but also regained its respect in the committee of nations.
How was Nigeria removed?
1. Massive anti-drug campaign: The government embarked on a massive anti-drug campaign using both print and electronic media to ensure that its citizens knew the consequences of drug trafficking and drug use. This helped reduce the number of people who saw the illicit drug trade as a quick way to get ahead.
2. Punitive Measures: The government also enacted laws that made the use or sale of narcotics a punishable offense. The culprits were prosecuted through due process of law and, when found guilty, were sentenced to several years in prison for making the business unattractive. In addition, the properties that were proven to have been acquired through this illicit business were also confiscated by the government.
3. Security Measures: The National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had several security measures in place to detect those who smuggle drugs across our borders. The use of sniffer dogs and body scanners were part of the measures put in place to ensure that those carrying narcotics in their luggage or concealed on their bodies were easily found at airports.
4. Domestic Measures: The NDLEA was also able to reduce the cultivation of hard drugs like Cannabis Sativa within the country by going from state to state, destroying drug farms and burning them down. This helped to minimize the number of youths turning to hard drug farming. The essence of the destruction of the cannabis farms was to send a strong message to the farmers that no psychotropic drugs would be tolerated in the country.
Now that the country’s name has been erased from the bad list, it is necessary to consolidate our achievements and not rest in our oars, as this could be dangerous if we do not realize that there is a possibility that the drug barons regroup to continue trading if security measures are relaxed.
To prevent any kind of relapse, there must be proper control of our national borders to make sure that no more hard drugs reach our shores. Imported goods (especially those from Latin America) must be thoroughly checked at our borders before being allowed into the country.
There should be alternative businesses for those who have been prosecuted and rehabilitated so that they no longer think about dealing drugs again. They must also be given a new reorientation so that they realize that it is a pride to obtain wealth legitimately.
This development should be seen as an important step in the right direction for the Barack Obama government to regain its popularity, especially in Nigeria and Africa in general. The war against the trade in narcotics or psychotropic drugs must be seen as a collective war. Therefore, everyone should join the fight to rid the world of ill-gotten riches, drug-induced psychoses, and violent crime. The world would be a better place to live if the war is won in the long run.