Stakeholders in Igbo Communities have been urged to join hands to tackle the increasing challenge of Methamphetamine otherwise known as Nkpurummiri. Speaking in Awka, the Vice Chairman of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene said there is need for collective and decisive action to save Igbo youths from self-destruction.
Methamphetamine is an illicit drug that is very addictive and adversely affects the nervous system and mental health of consumers, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Chief Okeke Ogene lamented that presently, the drug is wreaking havoc in many Igbo communities resulting in increase in madness, violence and crime among youths and warned that if nothing is urgently done, it would greatly harm the entire zone.
He called on parents to strengthen closer relationships with their children to enable them know when they are having challenges as well as monitor the kind of relationships they keep to protect them from negative influence of peer groups, while churches and schools should intensify moral instruction for children and youths.
Chief Okeke-Ogene while commending the leadership of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) and the youth wing of the union for rising to the occasion and initiating measures to halt the ugly trend, urged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to collaborate with community leaders to cut off sources of supply of the deadly drug while intensifying sensitization of youths on dangers of illicit drugs.
Also speaking, a retired school Principal, Lady Cecilia Ikeazor opined that enlightenment on drug abuse should be included in school curriculum to equip children with necessary knowledge of dangers of illicit drugs.