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By Akpan David, Calabar
The Cross River State Government, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has urged pupils and students across the state to resist peer pressure and avoid drug abuse.
The caution came during an educational orientation summit for secondary school students in the Southern Senatorial District, themed “From Distractions to Distinction: Empowering Students to Overcome Social Pressure, Drug Temptation and Career Confusion.”
Speaking at the Government Secondary School, Barracks Road, Calabar, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Students’ Orientation, Comrade Afufu Anthony Ogar-Ogabor, said the campaign was approved by the state government to empower students to overcome social pressure, drug temptation, and career confusion.
He explained that the awareness drive targets both public secondary schools and higher institutions across the state.
“We are educating students to stay away from social vices, drug abuse, and pressure groups that distract them from their studies,” he said.
“The state wants students to achieve excellence and reduce demand for drugs so their future will not be destroyed. Through this orientation, we aim to make them assets, not liabilities, to their families, communities, and the state.”
Also speaking, an Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics at the NDLEA Drug Demand Reduction Unit, Eyo Effiong Okon, cautioned students against experimenting with drugs, describing it as one of the greatest distractions to academic success.
He lamented that drug abuse has eaten deep into the fabric of society, with young people being the most vulnerable.
“During counselling, we often hear many excuses from youths on why they indulge in drugs. They don’t realise the heavy consequences,” Okon said.
He revealed that over 60 percent of young people in the state are involved in drug use, attributing the trend largely to peer influence.
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