Nigerian graduates opt for drug trafficking as alternative for job

 By Emeka Ibemere

The all time high unemployment rate in the country may have given a leey way for many Nigerian graduates to fix themselves with something-drug trafficking.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the rate of unemployment in Nigeria stood at 23.9 per cent in 2011, while urban unemployment was estimated at 29.5 per cent in 2013.

According to The Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), a Lagos-based financial advisory firm, the rate of unemployment in the country was expected to increase higher by about two per cent in 2014.

And with the FDC report which also forecast that the misery index was expected to increase further in 2014, from the 38 per cent it stood in 2013. Agency further reports that the Nigeria’s currency are likely going to nosedived by about three per cent in 2014, with hope that there may be light at the end of the tunnel through the stock market.

With the hopeless situation in the labour market and with the dwindling infrastructure and epileptic power supply which has led many companies to close shop and stopped job recruitment, Nigeria youths, including graduates and under-graduates have taken to drug trafficking business as an alternative for job.

Last week, during an interrogation with a suspected drug trafficker arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA, at the National Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO, a graduate drug trafficker with a degree in Business Administration, claimed that unemployment led him into the trade.

 Ifeanacho Somadina Victor was arrested with 2.185kg of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine.

The seizure was made at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, and Lagos State. He was to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to Malaysia when the drug was detected in his bag.

 “I am a graduate of Business Administration but have been jobless since I graduated in 2008. After several years of joblessness, I became a commercial bus driver in Lagos. I am single and live in Badagry”, Somadina Victor claimed.

“A man I met at a hotel promised to assist me in getting a job in Malaysia. I was happy to travel out of the country even with drugs out of frustration but I was arrested in the process. They promised to pay me 3,500 dollars but I regret everything now because I feel empty inside”. The suspect said he smuggled the drugs out of frustration. He hails from Enugu state.

But NDLEA commander at the airport, Mr. Hamza Umar said that the suspect was found in possession with the illicit substance. According to Hamza, “we have arrested one Ifeanacho Somadina Victor. He had parcels of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine. The case is under investigation”.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade described the arrest of Ifeanacho Somadina Victor as disappointing. Read what he said. “It is very disappointing for a University graduate who knows the implication of his actions to get involved in drug trafficking. Besides, he was taking the drug to Malaysia where he would have been executed, if caught with narcotics. I am happy with the arrest and I call on members of the public to support the Agency in the eradication of illicit drugs,” Giade stated.

The suspect was to be charged to court after investigation. If you think, Victor was the only graduate arrested recently, and then read another graduate story.

The officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted one hundred and seven (107) faked Citi Bank credit cards.

The Automated Teller Machine cards were detected inside a luggage during the outward screening of Turkish Airline passengers to Istanbul, Turkey at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

A 36 year-old man who has a double identity was apprehended in connection with the illegal possession of the cards. NDLEA Airport commander, Mr Hamza Umar said that the suspect had two international passports bearing his photographs but with different names.

“He had a Nigerian passport with the name Funsho Oladimeji Babatunde and a Turkish passport with the name Kosar Kursat both bearing his photographs. The cards found in his luggage are 68 Citi Interswitch Master Cards and 39 Citi Interswitch Visa cards,” Hamza stated.

The suspect, who claimed to have come from Iwo town in Kwara State, also stated that he lives in Surulere Lagos area of Lagos State. According to NDLEA’s investigation, the suspect claimed to be a graduate of Kwara Polytechnic and has an Ordinary National Diploma (OND), certificate holder.

In his statement, he told investigators that he was taking the cards to a friend in Turkey.

 “My friend in Turkey called me that I should help in sending the cards to him in Istanbul, Turkey. When I collected the cards in Lagos, I kept them in my bag but during search, the officer saw the cards and took me for interrogation. I am an OND graduate at the Kwara Polytechnic,” he stated.

 Another twenty year-old undergraduate was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos for importing 1.745 kilogrammes of dried weeds that tested positive for cannabis popularly called hemp was found in possession of the drug during the inward screening of passengers on an Africa World Airlines flight from Accra, Ghana.

NDLEA Lagos Airport commander, Mr Hamza Umar said that the drug was detected during routine screening of passengers.

“An undergraduate student was found in possession of two parcels of cannabis weighing 1.745kg during routine search of passengers. The drug was hidden inside his bag containing personal effects. He was immediately arrested and the case is under investigation,” Hamza stated.

The suspect who reportedly gained admission into the faculty of Management Sciences at the Regent University is currently assisting narcotic investigators assigned to the case. In his confessional statement, Udiomeh Kufre Ita said that he used his tuition fees in purchasing the drug found on him.

 “I spent my school fees on cell phone, smoking hemp and attending night clubs. I bought a cell phone for 107,000 naira and spent my school fees recklessly. I thought I could make enough profit from the sale of cannabis to offset the deficit in my tuition. I bought each parcel of hemp for 220 Ghana cedi. I did not know what came over me and I am afraid to go to my parents. My father is a retiree” the suspect stated. He hails from Akwa-Ibom State but grew up in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

Ahmadu Giade described the action of the student as shameful and sad. In his words, “this is very shameful and sad. It shows that the suspect is morally bankrupt. Students must understand that drug use is inimical to the pursuit of their academic goals,” Giade stated.

The NDLEA boss called on members of the public to avoid drug use and support the fight against drugs. “Abstinence from drug use is the best solution but those who have problem with drug use should please seek professional help before it is too late. Let us support the anti-drug campaign for a peaceful and fulfilled life” Giade added.