The teeming number of Nigerian youths who have suffered from drug abuse and human trafficking need a physical component to complement their psychological rehabilitation.
This was the position of the Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari when he received his counterpart from the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), Mr. Jonah Bitus Bawa on an advocacy visit in his office.
Abari stressed the need for agencies charged with rehabilitation of drug and human trafficking victims, including the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), to incorporate the values reorientation programmes of both the NOA and the CLTC in their rehabilitation programmes for better results.
Affirming the capacity of both institutions to add value to rehabilitation policies and programmes of government, he said: “There are a large number of our youths almost going mad with drugs. There are also those who have been trafficked and repatriated and are in need of rehabilitation and reintegration. Considering the behaviours of most of these victims after their rehabilitation, the psychological rehabilitation does not seem to suffice as the physical component is still missing. The agencies responsible for this rehabilitation need to partner closely with CLTC and NOA for the physical and values components of rehabilitation”.
In his submissions, the CLTC Director General, Jonah Bawa advocated the introduction of a policy making it mandatory for all aspiring leaders at Federal, State and Local Government levels to pass through the Centre’s training to ensure they have imbibed the right values necessary for leadership. He also noted the usefulness of the Centre’s values and mindset reorientation programmes and in the selection of beneficiaries for government empowerment programmes to ensure the benefits are not misused or merchandised, urging government to take advantage of the Centre’s capacities.
Bawa said all but three of Nigeria’s past Heads of State have been trained by CLTC which was founded in 1951 and gazetted in 1960 while it has also contributed toward the training and rehabilitation of Niger Delta ex-militants.