Marwa warns new NDLEA cadets against taking bribes
Retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, the Chairman and Chief Executive of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned new cadets of the agency against taking bribes from drug barons. Marwa gave the warning at the passing out parade of Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics Course 15, 2021 on Friday in Jos. The chairman urged them to resist all forms of temptation that could make them compromise rules of the agency. He reminded them that they were coming into the agency at a time when the institution is being overhauled to make it more effective and efficient.
He added that their four months training at the academy must contribute towards meeting the agency's goals of ridding Nigeria of drug abuse and trafficking. Marwa said they are coming into the agency at an auspicious time when the management has pushed the reset button and commenced the overhaul of the old system and its encumbrances. Their employment coincides with a time they are putting in place all that is necessary to foster the enabling work environment that makes a career in the NDLEA gratifying. Having been given the necessary training, they are expected to make their presence count with impactful contributions to the achievement of the agency's objectives in its campaign against abuse and trafficking of illicit substances.
He said qualities such as loyalty, discipline and diligence would help them to have a fulfilling career in a paramilitary organisation such as NDLEA. He also brought to their awareness on how important they are to the society; only very few occupations afford an individual the opportunity of direct, meaningful impact on society's wellbeing. They are part of a community of custodians who are assigned the responsibility of safeguarding society's sanity and safety against the corrosion of illicit substances. He charged them that they should not disappoint the agency, and the society at large, and more importantly, should not disappoint themselves.
Marwa acknowledged that the cadets would be faced with temptations from the dark world of drug barons and their cartels, but warned them to remain upright and patriotic at all times. He would not down play the fact that the world of illicit drugs is a dark, dangerous underworld that must be met with uprightness, patriotism and strong will. That was why they are working purposely to put in place a welfare package that would shield them from circumstances or conditions that may predispose them to compromise their duties and responsibilities.
He said their upbringing and the training they have undergone should imbue them with the moral fibre to withstand the lure of filthy lucre, which is the weapon of drug barons. In whatever circumstance they might find themselves in the course of their careers, think first about the greater good and always remember that traffickers, barons and cartels are opposing forces with whom they must not have any communion whatsoever. He wished them a successful, fulfilling career in the NDLEA, as they take the first major step as anti-narcotic agents.
Marwa said that Friday's passing-out parade coming barely seven weeks after the passing out of Narcotic Assistants in September, was yet another phase in the rapid evolution of the agency in the last 32 years. He said that the fight against the production of illicit drugs, trafficking and abuse was being reinforced with the passing-out of the new officers into field operations. The NDLEA boss thanked President Mohammadu Buhari for the support he had been rendering to the agency and called for more in order to win the war against drug abuse and trafficking.
He commended the resilience and commitment of the commandant of the NDLEA academy and other staff of the agency for making the passing-out parade a success. He urged them to keep the spirit of hard work to stem the tide of drug peddling and consumption of illicit substances in the country. Marwa said that the 1,978 new cadets would be deployed to the 774 local government areas of the country in order to curb drug abuse in the rural communities.
