Drug Abuse, Mental Illness Feed Each Other, Marwa Warns

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has called for increased investment in mental healthcare, warning that drug abuse and mental illness often reinforce each other and cannot be effectively addressed in isolation.

Marwa said many cases of substance abuse were rooted in untreated mental health conditions, including depression, trauma and emotional distress, stressing that efforts to combat drug abuse must go beyond arrests and enforcement to address the underlying causes.

He made the call on Tuesday at the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.

The conference, chaired by Marwa, was led by UK-based consultant psychiatrist, Dr Vincent Udenze, and focused on strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action in mental healthcare.

Speaking at the gathering, which came days after the observance of World Mental Health Day, the NDLEA chief said Nigeria needed to move beyond raising awareness about mental health to implementing practical solutions that would improve access to treatment, strengthen families and make communities more resilient.

Marwa, who also chaired the first edition of the conference in 2022 and its third edition, described the event as one of the country’s significant platforms for discussions on mental health.

He said his experience at the NDLEA had shown that behind many cases of drug abuse were individuals struggling with psychological and emotional problems that had either gone unnoticed or remained untreated.

“For too long, we treated mental health as a private burden, hidden behind shame and silence. In my work at the NDLEA, I see the cost of that silence daily.

“Behind many cases of drug abuse is untreated pain: depression nobody noticed, trauma nobody addressed, a young person who found a substance before finding help. Drug use and mental illness feed each other. If we only arrest the symptoms, we will keep missing the cause,” he said.

He explained that the relationship between substance abuse and mental illness required a more comprehensive response that combined law enforcement with prevention, counselling, rehabilitation and accessible mental health services.

According to him, addressing the psychological challenges that make people vulnerable to drug use is essential to achieving sustainable recovery and preventing relapse.

Marwa also emphasised the need to tackle poverty, hopelessness and the absence of economic opportunities, noting that these conditions could expose individuals and families to harmful choices and worsen mental health challenges.

Speaking on the conference theme, he said strategic investment and partnerships must translate into practical interventions that improve people’s livelihoods and give vulnerable communities a greater sense of security and hope.

He cited the NDLEA’s intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where residents who had previously depended on illicit cultivation were supported to develop legitimate sources of income.

According to him, the initiative demonstrated the importance of working directly with communities to develop sustainable alternatives rather than imposing solutions from outside.

“Your theme speaks of strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action. At the NDLEA, these are not abstract ideas. They are things we have done.

“Mental wellbeing cannot thrive where hopelessness and poverty drive people into harm. In three pilot communities in Ondo State, we worked with the people themselves to build legitimate livelihoods, so that families who once depended on illicit cultivation could earn a dignified, lawful income.

“When people have hope, income and a stake in their future, stress eases, families stabilise and communities grow resilient. These were solutions designed with communities, not imposed on them.

“We intend to scale this model across the country and invite our partners to walk that road with us,” he said.

The NDLEA boss said the agency was committed to expanding the initiative nationwide, urging government institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to support community-based programmes that address the social and economic conditions associated with drug abuse.

He also highlighted the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which targets young people in schools, tertiary institutions and communities through public enlightenment and prevention activities.

He said the campaign was part of broader efforts to discourage substance abuse, particularly among young people, by equipping them with information about its dangers and encouraging healthier choices.

Marwa further drew attention to the NDLEA’s 24-hour toll-free helpline, which provides an avenue for people experiencing drug-related challenges and their families to seek assistance.

He said the availability of such support was important because people dealing with addiction, emotional distress or uncertainty often needed immediate access to someone who could listen and guide them towards appropriate help.

The agency’s rehabilitation programmes have also continued to provide support for people affected by substance use disorders.

Marwa disclosed that more than 53,843 people had passed through the NDLEA’s 31 rehabilitation facilities across the country in the past five years.

He said the figure represented individuals whose recovery could have positive consequences for their families, workplaces and communities.

“Behind that number are fathers returned to their families and young people returned to school and work,” he said.

However, he stressed that rehabilitation efforts would have a greater impact if they were supported by stronger mental healthcare services, adequate funding and a sufficient number of trained professionals.

Marwa warned that mental health must no longer be treated as a neglected component of Nigeria’s healthcare system, arguing that investment in prevention, professional training and accessible treatment would deliver benefits beyond the health sector.

“Mental health cannot remain the poorest relation in our health budgets,” he said.

He added that spending on mental health should be viewed as an investment in national productivity, public safety and family stability rather than an avoidable financial burden.

According to him, Nigeria needs more psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and community health workers to expand access to care and ensure that people receive assistance before their conditions deteriorate.

He also called for the integration of mental health services into primary healthcare, saying this would make support more accessible, particularly to people in rural and underserved communities.

The NDLEA chairman said people should not have to travel long distances to obtain help for mental health challenges, while calling for a funding structure that would ensure that treatment was available to people regardless of their financial circumstances.

He warned against a system in which only wealthy Nigerians could afford adequate mental healthcare.

“Care that only the well-off can afford is not a system, it is a privilege,” he said.

Marwa also commended the conference for highlighting the mental health needs of women and children, describing them as groups that were particularly vulnerable to neglect, violence, displacement and other social challenges.

He identified survivors of violence, displaced mothers, vulnerable girls, persons living with disabilities and families uprooted by conflict as people whose needs could easily be overlooked in the delivery of healthcare and social support.

He said the NDLEA’s experience had shown that recovery was more sustainable when support extended beyond the individual to include the family and household.

According to him, helping mothers and children alongside other members of the family could strengthen the environment needed for lasting recovery and reduce the risk of individuals returning to harmful patterns of behaviour.

He urged policymakers and healthcare providers to ensure that mental health interventions were designed to respond to the different needs of vulnerable groups rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.

Marwa also called for stronger collaboration among the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors, noting that the challenges associated with drug abuse and mental illness were too complex for any single institution to address independently.

He said effective interventions required coordinated action, with each sector contributing its expertise and resources to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration.

The NDLEA chief thanked Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who was represented at the conference by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia as Special Guest of Honour, for his support for the initiative.

He said the Vice-President’s support demonstrated the importance attached to mental health as a national development priority.

Marwa urged participants to translate their discussions into measurable commitments, stressing that conferences would make little difference unless their recommendations resulted in improved services and tangible benefits for vulnerable Nigerians.

He called on stakeholders to invest in effective programmes, expand successful community-based interventions, prioritise women and children, and establish mechanisms for measuring progress and ensuring accountability.

“Let us build a Nigeria where seeking help is an act of courage, where recovery is possible, and where no one suffers alone,” he said.

His remarks reinforced the need for Nigeria to adopt a more integrated approach to drug abuse and mental health, combining prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, economic empowerment and community participation to address the underlying factors that leave individuals vulnerable to substance use and psychological distress.