Drug Abuse Cause Of Violence Among Youths During Elections — NGO

Africa Bridge Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, has said violent tendencies exhibited by youths during elections are a result of using illicit drugs and substances.

Opeoluwa Taiwo, the NGO’s founder and Executive Director, disclosed this at the organisation’s end-of-the-year event.

Taiwo noted that youths had become tools in the hands of politicians to perpetrate violence during elections as a result of their drug intake.

“We are a youth-focused NGO and what we do is advocate against drug abuse and the challenges of drug abuse in Lagos.

"So many youths are wasting their talents, vision, and direction because of the dangers of these harmful drugs.

“What is generating violent tendencies in youths today is the influence of drugs.

"Whatever we’re currently seeing with youths being perpetrators of violence, like the destruction of INEC facilities, is because politicians are using them through the drugs already in their system.

“A normal youth in his right frame of mind would not do such.

"Once we can work more and advocate more for them to leave the drugs, no politician would be using them.”

Damilola Johnson, a member of the NGO’s board of trustees, who represented the board Chairman, African Bridge Initiative, Prof. Tunde Babawale, added that the issue of drug abuse was becoming overwhelming for the government, hence the need for individual and group efforts to curb it.