The Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi ll yesterday said a law should be enacted that will compel traditional rulers, governors, ministers, senators and other public office holders to go for a drug test.
The emir was speaking the opening of a two-day Senate Roundtable on Drug Abuse Epidemic in Nigeria, held in Kano.
“Every senator, emir, and the governor should go for a drug test and if you are on drugs you should respect yourself and resign because you are not fit and competent to hold that position,” he said.
He said, “when we begin to set this example, the younger ones will understand that if they engage in drug abuse, they will certainly limit their opportunities of becoming leaders.”
The traditional ruler said, “the police, army and other paramilitary officers and men should not be drug addicts.”
He said Nigeria is facing a great danger and that conversation about drugs should be at the forefront of national conversation.
“This roundtable will be the beginning of national conversation leading to a national action plan, leading to concrete results,” he said.
“The political establishment is the fundamental problem and the values on which our politics are established are values that have sink into the rest of the society,” the traditional ruler said.
Sanusi added that “it is profitable for you to be a drug addict, to be a thug to be of the personal protection team of a politician, you get paid to kill people, you get paid to attack opponents you get paid to abuse anyone and you are given the drugs and this is something that is well known.”
“If a senior politician, a governor or a senator who has access to protection by the police or DSS, but besides that, he will seek protection from thugs who are on drugs. How many of your colleagues do you know who have thugs on their payroll?
“Who buy drugs and give same to thugs so that they can protect them or attack their political opponents even though they can have access to policemen, DSS by virtue of their positions?
“We see governors move around and in their convoys openly you have area boys on drugs with arms, and then you stand up and said you are there fighting drugs, what are you fighting?”
The emir said the prevalence of drug abuse was a sign of failure on the part of our governors.
“The first problem we have is that we are not even ready to implement the laws that we have. We are talking about new law about criminalizing and decriminalizing but what have we done with the existing laws,” he said.
