TheCable

Abubakar Salami, a property developer and managing director of Mubdhab Homes Ltd, says parents of children suffering from drug abuse should not give up on them.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Salami said only God can decide who is useless, noting that children who are into drugs can still become successful in life.

The real estate developer said he was involved in substance abuse for about 12 years and later became diligent in the property business.

“Don’t give up on your children suffering from substance abuse. Don’t lose hope,” Salami said.

“It’s like we say, it’s an illness, right? You would continue to find help and cure. Then another advice I have for parents is to make your house a shield.

“The first point that drives people into these things is it is like a form of escape.

“So, what are the children, the young ones trying to escape from? Abuse from unconventional homes.

“Many times the parents have subconsciously driven their children into this lifestyle with their ways and lifestyle.

“Just imagine you come to the house and you’re beating your wife all the time and your child doesn’t like that sight. Your child goes to stay in the streets and he gets hooked.

“You’re a father in absentia, you’re not always around. Your child finds solace in the streets, your child gets hooked.

It’s mostly from the streets, right? Now, if you build a proper home where there is love, protection, and shield around your children, your place of children, even when they go to school and they meet children from those unconventional homes, that love and that guidance will shield them.”

Salami said many parents have lost hope because they do not see people like him who were able to get out of substance abuse.

”In those years, a lot of people gave up on me — family members and friends, teachers, and my lecturers. A lot of people looked at it as this chap is a useless guy who cannot amount to anything,” he said.

”Today, that is my most strength. A lot of people thought I couldn’t amount to something, but here I am today, amounting to many things.

“Only God can decide who is useless. I have all the causes and reasons to succeed in life because I know how it feels to be a failure. And it is a place I don’t wish for my enemy.“