• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home Africa

Obasanjo urges West African govts to decriminalise personal use of drugs

12 September 2018, 4:05 PM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
Olusegun Obasanjo

Obasanjo served twice as Nigeria's head of state: once as a military ruler in the 1970s and then again as a democratically-elected president from 1999-2007.

Olusegun Obasanjo

Image: SABC News

Obasanjo served twice as Nigeria's head of state: once as a military ruler in the 1970s and then again as a democratically-elected president from 1999-2007.

West African governments should overhaul their drug laws to decriminalise personal use and prioritise treatment as a response to rising substance abuse in the region, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo said on Tuesday.

In an interview before he was due to present a model drug law to regional officials in Senegal, Obasanjo urged authorities to channel resources into fighting large-scale trafficking, which he said was undermining regional democracy.

The use of substances like cocaine, heroin and amphetamines is rising in West Africa despite strict drugs laws. Countries that once served primarily as transit points for trade between South America and Europe are now active consumer markets.

“All of us in West Africa know now that drugs are not Justin transit through our countries. Our youth are becoming more and more consumers, even some form of drugs are being produced,”Obasanjo said.

In 2016, the last year for which data was available, Africa registered the second-highest growth in cocaine seizures behind Asia, according to the United Nations. Abuse of opioids, particularly the cheap painkiller Tramadol, has become a major health crisis in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

The recommendations by Obasanjo’s West Africa Commission on Drugs come as a number of countries look to decriminalise drug use, especially marijuana, after decades of enforcement appear to have done little to curb it.

Canada legalised recreational marijuana in June and most U.S. states have legalised the drug for medical or recreational use. Prominent political figures have also called for decriminalisation in Mexico and Brazil in recent years.

“PRISON DOES NOT REFORM”

Obasanjo’s commission has only an advisory role and it is up to national governments, often reluctant to scrap longstanding drug regulations, to decide whether to accept its proposals.

Obasanjo served twice as Nigeria’s head of state: once as a military ruler in the 1970s and then again as a democratically-elected president from 1999-2007. Drug enforcement was strict during both his stints in office.

But he cited his own encounters with drug offenders during a stint in Nigerian prison in the 1990s under the dictatorship of Sani Abacha as he urged governments to find alternatives to incarceration.

“Prison does not reform. If anything it hardens,” he said.

Obasanjo named Senegal and Ghana as two countries that are moving to expand treatment options. Senegal has since 2014opened centres to treat addicts, while Ghana is considering a proposal to exempt first-time offenders from prison terms.

But criminal syndicates, human traffickers and jihadist groups are profiting from the drug trade, he said. In some cases, politicians in Nigeria and elsewhere are using the proceeds to finance political careers, he added.

“[I] fear that they may be creeping into our fledgling democracy and political life,” Obasanjo said.

 

 

Share article
Tags: Olusegun ObasanjoDrug LawWest AfricaNigeria
Previous Post

Raymond Zondo to reveal judgment on applications for leave to cross-examine

Next Post

Zimbabwe police ban public gatherings in capital to contain cholera outbreak

Related Posts

Members of the Ugandan army, part of the troops to the East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF), patrol a settlement ceded by M23 rebels fighters to EACRF soldiers in Bunagana, Rutshuru territory of the North Kivu province of DRC, April 19, 2023

Warring DRC parties called to lay down their weapons

2 June 2023, 2:08 PM
Sudanese soldiers secure the area as Sudan's ex-president Omar al-Bashir leaves the office of the anti-corruption prosecutor.

UN rejects request to replace Special Representative to Sudan

2 June 2023, 12:38 PM
Rwandan genocide suspect Fulgence Kayishema appears in the Cape Town Magistrates Court, in Cape Town, South Africa May 26, 2023.

Case of alleged Rwandan genocide fugitive postponed in Cape Town

2 June 2023, 11:47 AM
Students and supporters of Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko clash with with security forces, after Sonko was sentenced to prison in Dakar, Senegal June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Deadly protests rock Senegal as opposition leader sentenced to jail

2 June 2023, 6:06 AM
Zimbabweans with the country's flag

‘Money for Zim elections should be channeled to the poor’

1 June 2023, 6:56 PM
Medication and a syringe for illustration purposes

Tunisia’s financial crisis leaves the sick struggling to find medicine

1 June 2023, 5:52 PM
Next Post
Patients await treatment at a makeshift cholera clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe, September 11, 2018.

Zimbabwe police ban public gatherings in capital to contain cholera outbreak

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • Durban’s N2 road, Spaghetti Junction closed due to cleanup operations
  • DENOSA defends nurses for placing newborns in boxes
  • Limpopo teacher writes a book which simplifies Maths
  • Limpopo healthcare set to get massive boost with multi-billion rand hospital
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Experts raise caution over Prime energy drink craze
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • Zimbabwe receives 18 helicopters from Russian Federation
  • Eastern Cape ActionSA raises eyebrows over qualifications of senior officials
  • Soweto e-hailing drivers fearing for their lives
  • Speaker dismissed me when I requested a meeting: Mkhwebane
  • SAMWU Free State workers vow not to return to work until salaries are paid
  • Two killed, six wounded in Malamulele tavern shooting: Police

LATEST

An Eskom power station seen at night.
  • Eskom rolling blackouts
  • Business

Higher stages of load shedding don’t suggest a grid collapse: Ramokgopa


Novak Djokovic during a match
  • Sport

Djokovic survives Davidovich Fokina battle to reach fourth round


The Centre Manager of Mogalakwena Hospice and Rehabilitation Centre together with the EFF leadership led by CIC 
Julius Malema cutting the EFF 10th anniversary cake at Rooibokfontein Village, Mokopane.
  • Politics

Young people have interest in politics because of EFF: Malema


Train wreck after a crash in India
  • World

50 dead, 300 injured in train collision in eastern India: Reports


Stop rape graphic
  • South Africa

Children call for no bail for those accused of rape


File image: People seen at an ANC event.
  • Elections 2024
  • Politics

Mashatile says ANC will engage with Mbeki to campaign for the party


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Raymond Zondo to reveal judgment on applications for leave to cross-examine
Next Zimbabwe police ban public gatherings in capital to contain cholera outbreak