By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The African Students Union Parliament (ASUP) has appealed to the Oyo State Government to include Fight Against Drugs in its school curriculum.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Kewul Abel, from University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, made this appeal when the group paid a visit to the Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (Oyo SUBEB), Mr Nureni Adeniran, a few days ago.
Mr Abel promised that the organisation would join forces with the government to successfully curtail the drug menace in the state and the African continent at large.
He said the student’s parliament was currently undergoing a sensitization programme against drug abuse across the African continent and would want the support of the government to achieve meaningful results.
The Speaker said that the collaboration aims to successfully curtail the drug menace in Africa, adding that it became necessary due to the rising cases of illegal consumption of prohibited substances, especially among youths.
Mr Abel noted that there was an urgent need for the present crop of African leaders, especially in the education sector to build on the dreams of the founding fathers of the union, in order to salvage the decay in the education sector.
He used the occasion to present an award bestowed on Mr Adeniran by ASUP. He was given the prestigious Icon of Nation Building Award and also given an ASUP Five-Star General Badge, as well as a matching certificate.
The Deputy Speaker of ASUP, Mr Joseph Konan, from the Universite Felix Houpouet Boigny, Cote-d’Ivoire, explained that the awardee was carefully selected by an international committee of students across Africa due to his achievements in the basic education sub-sector he supervises.
In his remarks, the Oyo SUBEB chief thanked ASUP for the honour, expressing his profound gratitude to the board, management and staff members of Oyo SUBEB for their unrelenting support and sacrifices at ensuring that the vision of the agency was kept alive.
He dedicated the award to Governor Seyi Makinde for giving him the enabling environment to operate.
On the war against drug abuse, he said the state government was ready to collaborate with ASUP and other stakeholders to curb the menace.
According to him, the agency has put in some necessary measures to curb any form of vices, including drug abuse, across the state.
He said he was happy that the group was ready to join forces with the state government to tackle drug abuse, noting that the war can only be achieved when critical stakeholders agree to work together.
It would be recalled that the West African Students Union (WASU), now African Students Union Parliament (ASUP), was formed in London in 1925 by Sir Kwame Nkrumah and presently has an estimated 50 million African students under its umbrella.