Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Gbenga Ashafa has said that with the rate at which the youths are abusing drugs, there might not be anyone with sound mind when the Federal Government finally creates the millions of jobs it promised them.

The Senator who is sponsoring a bill in the upper legislative chamber and aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in Nigeria had raised an alarm over the rising rate of drug abuse among the youths, stressing that it has now become a national concern.

“When I was thinking about this bill, what was in my mind was the situation where our youths are just abusing drugs.

“If we succeed in creating employment for our youth, what kind of youths are we creating the jobs for?

“Are we creating the jobs for sound minded individuals and young people or what? That is part of the side effects we are having with that,” he said.

Senator Ashafa also revealed that he heard young ladies now take a particular cough suppressant in volumes and then go to parties so as to achieve a particular effect.

“Now, what I heard is that there is a particular drug that ladies now take when they go to parties and this is supposed to be a cough suppressant.

“They take it in volumes and then go to parties.

In the interview, Sen. Ashafa said there was an urgent need to combat drug abuse among youths.

According to him, the rate at which the youth including girls were abusing drugs was now on the increase.

He said that if nothing is done about it urgently, homes will be filled with youths seeking treatment from drug related illness.

“Drug is something that is affecting that group of Nigerians, if nobody is saying anything, in the next three years we would have our psychiatric homes full of young people begging for mental treatment.

He said that a former head of state saw the bill and commended it while also making some inputs which have been sent through the President of the Senate Dr. Bukola Saraki.

Vanguardngr