Emeka Ibemere
Three days
training of the Nigerian journalists by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ended on Tuesday, March 11 at the
cosy Lisabi Courts, off Oladeinde Joseph Road, Ibarra Housing Estate Abeokuta
Ogun State capital with journalists giving kudos to the organizers of the
training event. The training started with an open remark by the NDLEA Ogun
State Commander thanked the UNODC for considering Ogun State as the centre for
the training. He stated that praised the effort of the UNODC in tackling drug
trafficking in Nigeria. According to him, a drug crime gives birth to other
crimes and said it is the bed rock of all crimes. There is need for all hands
to be on the deck to fight drug menace. He also tasked the media to preach the
gospel of drug menace with their different medium and disseminate information
to the public. “To ensure that the message of drug menace information is
disseminated to the public, the media has a role to play”, he quipped. “Devastation of drug to families, states,
community, and nation is too much. We therefore seek your hands of fellowship
in disseminating the message of drug damage to the society and reduce trafficking
and other organized crimes in the country”.
The event
meant for the facilitating drug demand
reduction in Nigeria: the role of the media discussed the means by which
journalists covering NDLEA could help in promoting public dialogue on drugs and
crime through media. The
occasion was organized by UNODC in collaboration with NDLEA, under the
EU-funded project entitled: ‘Response to Drugs and Related Organized Crimes in
Nigeria’.
The training
offered journalists the opportunity as a social agents in their community to
play a vital role of the media in Policy formulation, challenge government on
drug strategy through responsible reporting by using their different channels
of media to focus on dangers posed by drug and organized crimes.
The
participants were also trained on how to use correct terminology by avoiding
terms like ‘junkies’ to refer people with drug related cases. According to the
resources persons, Nigerian journalists should set agenda by enabling an
informed discussion on the dangers and health hazards of drugs by also addressing
stigma syndrome and informing the public about services available for help to
those who live on drugs. The training also provided journalists a leeway on how
best to use their medium in informing the public about evidence based treatment
services while dispelling myths about drug use, addiction, and treatment. One
of the resource persons, Harsheth Kaur Virk, Project Officer Drug Demand
Reduction, during a facilitated discussion to establish approach of the media
coverage of drugs and related organized crimes in Nigeria, said Nigerian
journalists were only interested in reporting arrests, seizures and prosecution
to the detriment of the health aspect of drugs and other organized crimes. In a
practical class, she showed some of the recent stories on illicit drug
trafficking without any of the published stories talking on the health angles
of the trafficking and danger it poses. In reviewing the media reporting and
understanding journalists’ perception of drugs and organized crimes in Nigeria,
it was obvious that the media in Nigeria are interested on the crime aspect of
the issue in discourse. After the 35 minutes section, participants discovered
new ways of reporting drug issues and promised to toe the new angle in respect
to the health hazards of the illicit drugs.
Participants agreed that some recent coverage on drug lacked
reports on treatment, youth and drugs.
Some
articles on youth and drugs were not given attention instead it suggested that
journalists reporting was mainly ‘crime’ focused and concerned with Nigeria’s
image. There were limited articles on drug demand reduction, Drug Prevention,
Treatment and Care. According
to Kaur Virk, drug Prevention is about building the
fence and warning signs on top of the cliff rather than parking the ambulance
at the bottom of the cliff. She said the objective was to help people,
particularly young people, to avoid or delay the initiation of drugs, or, if
already started, to avoid dependence. “Even if you are not on a
‘health/science’ beat, check information from experts, seek data …” she stated. “Even scientific information could be potentially political –
for example debates around methadone maintenance therapy. Human story for e.g.
circumstances of drug couriers, and drug users”. According to her, the strategy
could target three key themes for government drug policy. She tasked
participating journalists to help use their media in reducing demand by encouraging people not to use drugs, restricting supply of drugs by targeting criminal organizations
Journalists
were also asked to focus on reporting on the protective factors such as
psychological and emotional well-being, a strong attachment to caring and
effective parents, to schools and communities rather than on crime angle of
trafficking. According to Kaur Virk, research shows that every dollar spent on
substance abuse treatment saves $4 in healthcare costs and $7 in law
enforcement and other criminal justice costs. On the average, she stated that substance
abuse treatment costs $1,583 per patient and is associated with a cost offset
of $11,487, representing a greater than 7:1 ratio of benefits to costs.
Participating reporters also agreed to focus in their reportage, the drug
prevention, treatment and care. Drug treatment aims to help addicted
individuals stop compulsive drug seeking and use.
It was
gathered that treatment could occur in a variety of settings, by taking many
different forms, and last for different lengths of time. “Drug addiction is typically
a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time
treatment is usually not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process
that involves multiple interventions and regular monitoring. For every dollar
spent on prevention, at least ten can be saved in future health, social and
crime costs”, she said.
Reporters
were told that type of treatment varies depending on the patient’s needs and
types of drugs used. Through media, it was gathered that the best programs would
provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet an individual
patient’s needs. According to the resource person, treatment is an alternative
to criminal justice sanctions for people suffering from drug use disorders
while aftercare: help recovering persons to adapt to everyday community life,
after completing treatment and rehabilitation”.
Skills for
maintaining recovery: handling everyday responsibilities, managing family and
other relationships, making new friends, developing alternative recreational
activities, adjusting to work, acquiring occupational skills, overcoming stigma,
individual and family counselling, continuation of medications, psychiatric and
medical treatment, aftercare group, vocational rehabilitations are necessary
reports that the participants were asked to be focusing on while reporting drug
stories.
Sylvester
Tunde Atere, Outreach and Communications Officer
Spoke on
keys to promoting public dialogue on drugs and crime through journalism.
According to him, the essence of the issue was to let reporters understand how
they could use their reportage to stimulate public dialogue on drugs and
related organized crimes in Nigeria.
“A process through which the mass media may
influence how much importance the public places on various issues. The more the
media emphasize an issue, the more importance the public places on it”,
“This phrase summaries the continuing
dialogue and debate in every community, from local neighborhoods to the
international arena, over what should be at the centre of public attention and
actions. Parents, schools, religious institutions, traditional Institutions and
public Institutions to be engaged on these issues depends on the emphasize
media placed on it”.
According to
him, in the role of media, he quoted what Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Congressional Testimony, said on January 3,
2007. “Drug abuse and addiction are major burdens to society; economic costs
alone are estimated to exceed half a trillion dollars annually in the United
States, including health, crime-related costs, and losses in productivity.
However, staggering as these numbers are, they provide a limited perspective of
the devastating consequences of this disease.”
On her own,
UN information Centre Officer, Envera Selimovic discussing on journalism in
extreme situations, shared her war experience as a Bosnian TV international
Correspondent covering the White House and the State Department. She trained
journalists on how to strike an exclusive and explosive worthy interview. After
the class, participants had a better understanding of how to cover and report
adverse and sensitive issues without running into risk. James Ayodele, Outreach
and Communications Officer, UNODC, Nigeria speaking on culture verses ethics in
reporting drugs and related organized crime said it’s very good for journalists
to observe ethics all the time in their works. He tasked journalists to be
sensitive to people’s culture and the ethical values of their profession in
reporting drugs and other related organized crimes issues in Nigeria. In
discussing the issue, journalists observed that publishers, editors, tribal
interests and prejudices affect their ethical approach to their works.
However,
Mitchell Ofoyeju, the NDLEA Public Relations Officer, spoke on the role of the
NDLEA in drug control in Nigeria. Speaking, Ofoyeju provided in-depth
information about his agency’s role to journalists to understand the workings
of the agency in the country. Meanwhile, Ofoyeju gave details of the agency
activities since inception and asked journalists at the event to help the
agency reach-out to Nigerians on the dangers of the drug. Participants agreed
to inform the public better only if the agency would corporate with reporters
on information. Research Officer Coordinator, Programme Support Team, UNODC,
Henry Victor Doctor talked about story behind the numbers; translating research
to news item, taught reporters how to interpret research findings and use them
as materials for news. According to him, journalists could pick up research findings;
material from internet, reports and from other sources and elaborates on it to
get their reports, analysis, features and news items. Though, no communique was
raised on the roundtable discuss, but participants having understood the new
reporting ways of drug issues, agreed to raise the bar in their reportage as it
concerns the NDLEA materials being churned out by the public affairs of the
agency. The reporters agreed to vet thoroughly, the press releases coming out
from NDLEA by going extra miles to look for an angle apart from what the agency
wants journalists to report. Also personalized plans were discussed on how to
better report of drugs and related organized crime issues in Nigeria. According
to reporters, more emphasis would be focused on the health angle of the drug
trafficking and abuse. The training featured hospital visitation at the Federal N euro-psychiatric Hospital, Aro in Abeokuta state capital of Ogun State. Founder,
Gifted Hands Help Foundation, Gilbert Akerara, former drug user who was
practically present told his chilling story in the world of drug addiction.
Akerara shared his pains and agony while under-going rehabilitation in several
rehab homes in Nigeria. His story enabled journalists to conceptualize illicit
drug use and abuse from practical source. After his story, participants
demonstrated fear on how dangerous drugs could be. The participants understood
how drug abuse takes place having heard how dangerous and effective abuse of drugs
could cause.
The visit
enabled reporters on the spot assessment of the drug dependent treatment and
rehabilitation going on in Aro. There journalists had practical experience on
how treatment and rehabilitation services are being provided to drug users. It
also affords reporters opportunity to interact with the health workers and
service providers at the Aro centre. There were interactions with doctors,
heath workers, and hospital administrators on the challenges, funds, patients,
size of the hospital, management and other sundry matters affecting the quick
management of their ‘residents’ called drug users.
The
training was spiced up with the award of certificates of participation to the
reporters on participated on the programme and journalists solicited to the
organizers to sustain the training. In all, there was exchange of phone
numbers, contacts and reporters and opportunity to make new friends on the beat.
Overall, UNODC, NDLEA and participants evaluated the training with conclusion
that the training g is worth the cause. The training event ended with the
departure of all the reporters to their respective states.
It would
recalled that globally, UNODC leads the international campaign to raise
awareness about the major challenge that illicit drugs represents to society as
a whole and especially to the youth. June 26 each year is recognized worldwide
as International day against drugs abuse and illicit drug trafficking and CONIG
marks the event by collaborating with NDLEA in the development and facilitation
of activities to mark the day. The activities usually include a press
conference, workshop, and public destruction of drug exhibits and often the
simultaneous launch of the World Drug Report.
Another
annual event aimed at raising public awareness which is marked by UNODC is the
International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Report launch. This event usually
consists of a gathering of dignitaries, national stakeholders, Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) and the media where the report is launched and a power
point synopsis of the report is presented by an expert guest speaker.
In the
area of drug demand reduction, CONIG is a beneficiary of the Japanese Drug
Abuse Prevention Centre (JDAPC) yearly contribution to UNODC as part of its
worldwide support for the anti-drug crusade. The donation is used for grants,
ranging from $5000 to $20,000, in support of NGOs in developing countries in
their grass-roots activities for drug demand reduction. The JDAPC grant
finances NGO activities in line with UNODC's policy of support for and
collaboration with civil society organizations working in the field of drug
abuse. CONIG offers the money from this
fund to Nigerian NGOs working on matters of drug prevention, education,
treatment and/or rehabilitation. The grant is awarded for activities that fall
within the general sphere of drug demand reduction and the NGO that is awarded
the grant is assessed and evaluated based on the following criteria: Possibility
of achieving set goals/objectives of the project: Outreach, Sustainability, Relevance
and Collaboration with other NGOs
Before
now, UNODC intervention in the area of drug demand reduction particularly
treatment was a project to strengthen the treatment and rehabilitation centres
across some states of the country, of treatment and rehabilitation centres
benefitted from this exercise.
Prior to
this, UNODC had provided funding for drug abuse education through NDLEA. Also a
campaign against drug abuse was taken to six universities, six prisons and two communities
(Lagos Island Local Government Area and Dala Local Government Area in Kano State)
through a Swiss-funded but UNODC implemented project entitled; Partnership against
Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention in Nigeria.
Also in
the recent past, CONIG has partnered with NDLEA, in the NIRI24 project -
Upgrading of the NDLEA Jos Training Academy to a regional law enforcement
training centre. The project's aim was to further implement the technical and
physical upgrade of the academy into a regional law enforcement centre. As well
as the development and implementation of a standard regional curriculum for 15
West African countries, and the adaptation of UNODC's global Computer Based
Training (CBT) module, to the West-African cultural and linguistic environment
context. Currently the NDLEA Jos Training Academy is a regional training centre
that provides training facilities and managerial and teaching capacity for all
the States in the West African region.
No comments:
Post a Comment