SOS — a generation’s plea to overcome the drug crisis

In the twilight of our nation’s soul, where shadows stretch long and weary, the heartbeat of the youthful population is caught in a haze of perilous allure. Their minds, once bright with the promise of stars, now teeter on the edge of a chasm, seduced by the siren call of drugs. Powders and pills, smoked dreams and liquid escapes, weave through their lives like a river too swift to resist. Accessibility is their cruel enabler—substances flow freely, peddled in dark corners and digital bazaars, as easy to grasp as the air they breathe. A click, a whisper, a fleeting exchange, and the poison seeps into their veins, unraveling the tapestry of their potential.

Oh, how the songs of our youth echo still—those innocent anthems sung in primary school, voices pure and unshaken: *“We are the leaders of tomorrow.”* Those were not mere lyrics but prayers lifted to the heavens, vows woven by children whose hearts God does not ignore. Yet, tomorrow has come, slipping in quietly since yesterday, and it finds us wanting. The leaders of tomorrow are drowning in today’s temptations, their minds fracturing under the weight of a broken nation. Our forebears, entrusted with the cradle of our future, have faltered. They taught us to kneel in greeting, to bow to tradition, but left the institutions of our land in ruins—crumbling pillars unable to hold the weight of our dreams.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, guardians of our sanity, must rise from their slumber. The NDLEA must sharpen their swords, not with mere rhetoric but with relentless action. The streets brim with predators who prey on the young, and the agency’s vigilance must match their cunning. For if the minds of our youth are lost, what hope remains for the dawn? The leaders of tomorrow must be shielded, their spirits fortified, for they are the architects of a Nigeria yet to be reborn. This is no time for half-measures; the agency must hunt the merchants of chaos with a ferocity that matches the urgency of our plight.

But the burden does not rest on the NDLEA alone. The young must seize the reins of their destiny. The old will fade, as nature decrees—death comes for all, as it came for Buhari. The cycle turns, unyielding, and the mantle now falls to you. You cannot inherit a fractured state and pass it, still shattered, to those who follow. Nigeria, with all its scars, is home—its soil clings to your roots, its skies call you to rise. Emigration may tempt, with promises of greener pastures, but home will always be home. To abandon it is to forsake the prayers of those children who sang for tomorrow, their voices still lingering in the wind.

Take the matter into your hands, dear youth. Rebuild what was broken, mend what was torn. The doldrums of this nation are not your destiny but your challenge. Reject the haze that clouds your minds, the drugs that steal your futures. You are the prophecy fulfilled, the leaders foretold. Let not your legacy be one of surrender but of resilience, of a Nigeria reclaimed from the ashes of disappointment. For the songs of your childhood were not in vain—they were the seeds of a revolution, and you are the harvest. Rise, Oh youngster; rise and save your minds, your home, your tomorrow.

Belgore can be reached via [email protected]