Marwa Warns UniAbuja Graduates: Drug Abuse Costs Your Future

By Ifeyinwa Ike

The Chairman.and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen Mohamed Marwa has warned Nigerian youths, especially tertiary students, that the fleeting euphoria of drug use exacts a devastating, lifelong toll on their futures.

Delivering the public lecture for the University of Abuja’s 29th and 30th Combined Convocation Ceremony on Tuesday, titled “High Today, Lost Tomorrow: The Real Cost of Drug Abuse on Campus”, Marwa highlighted how substance abuse has evolved from a street issue to a campus crisis.

He said Traditional drugs like cannabis have given way to synthetic opioids and designer strains such as Colorado, Loud, and methamphetamine, often peddled via social networks with student involvement in trafficking.

“A criminal record for drug offences is a life sentence on your career before it even begins. You cannot practice law, medicine, or engineering with a drug-related conviction,” Marwa cautioned.

He detailed how drugs hijack neurotransmitters, erode memory and critical thinking, fuel cultism and violence, and lead to arrests that crush professional dreams under NDLEA’s zero-tolerance policy. The result includes lost talent to psychosis, premature death, and national setbacks.
Marwa cited stark data.

The 2018 National Drug Use and Health Survey revealed widespread non-medical psychoactive substance use among Nigerians aged 15–64, peaking in the 25–39 group, with initiation often at age 19 or younger, even under 15 today. NDLEA stats from the past five years show over 60% of 77,859 arrested drug offenders were youths (some as young as 15), and most of the 48,836 counselled or treated were young people too.

Speaking directly to graduates, he urged sobriety: “You are about to enter a world that is AI-Powered and Fintech-driven, as your convocation theme suggests. There is no room for a clouded mind in a fast-paced world. Choose your circle. Peer pressure is the primary gateway. If your friends require you to be ‘high’ to belong, you are in the wrong company. And as you receive your degrees on Friday and Saturday, remember that character comes before learning. The University of Abuja is the University for Nigeria’s Unity. Let us unite against this scourge. Don’t let a moment of ‘high’ cost you your tomorrow. Nigeria needs your talent, your energy, and most importantly your sober mind to lead us into the next decade.”

Marwa stressed the ripple effects beyond users straining families, damaging institutions, slashing productivity, and spiking crime, calling on stakeholders to join government efforts.

“The nexus between crime and illicit drugs is not an abstraction, but an everyday reality. We must surmount the substance abuse challenge. Success will assure our youths reach greatness; failure strands them in the wilderness.” he said.

He commended UniAbuja’s leadership for partnering on campus surveillance and urged all institutions to ramp up drug education in orientations and lectures.

Dignitaries at the event included Pro-Chancellor and Governing Council Chairman Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso; Vice Chancellor Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi; Council Member Dr. Adedeji Adefuye; university officials; students; and NDLEA officers.