OVER 1,000 Nigerian youths are being detained at various prisons in China for various drug related offences. Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, at the weekend, the Minister of Youths Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said he had already written to the government of China to have the details of their offences. He said the Federal Government intended to use the detail of the offence as a form of campaign to discourage Nigerian youths from embarking on drug trafficking business.
“This is a very serious matter. I have written to the government of China and I am planning to actually travel there on behalf of the Federal Government to have the details of their cases,” he said.
The minister, who said that many Nigerian youths who indulged in drug trafficking business in a bid to get rich quick were not always aware of the dire consequences and the risks involved, added that “The risks far deplete the benefits. In fact, there is no benefit.
Whoever gets involved will get caught sooner than later and whatever that might have been acquired will go with it. So, where is the benefit?,” he asked rhetorically.
“The only way to good living is to be involved in legitimate business whereby nobody is running after you for committing an offence. There is nothing like getting rich quick and there is no short cut to it,” he said.
However, the minister commended the new idea of Lagos State government, whereby those found guilty for committing drug-related offences were made to serve the community, instead of sending them to prisons.
Culled from : Nigerian Tribune
