The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.) over the weekend, received the award for the Nigerian of the Year 2022 from National Infinity magazine.
At a brief ceremony, which took place at the office of NDLEA’s Ikoyi, Lagos office, Marwa was represented by the Lagos State Zonal Commander of the agency, Mr. Segun Oke, who received the award on behalf of his Chairman, promising to convey the publication’s goodwill to the NDLEA helmsman, who he described as a “lovable and hard-working Nigerian whose dedication to duty inspires the entire NDLEA staff”.
While announcing the 70-year-old retired army general as ‘Nigerian of the Year 2022’, National Infinity magazine described Marwa as a “role model, diligent public officer, generational leader and administrator whose style of leadership has carved out a niche among a cross-section of Nigerians in the last three decades”.
The magazine said that the high level of achievement the Adamawa State-born politician and administrator has recorded as NDLEA Chairman is an indicator that what he achieved as military administrator of Lagos State was not a fluke but a result of his inbuilt leadership qualities.
Under Marwa’s watch, the NDLEA has risen from an anti-drug agency in comatose to a roaring scourge against drug barons and traffickers.
According to National Infinity, Marwa’s dynamic approach to the fight against narcotics has changed the narratives. It has yielded a new confidence, rebuilt trust and sincerity of purpose by the international community and partners in Nigeria’s determination to get rid of hard drug trafficking and its consumption by the populace.
The magazine said: “Marwa came prepared for the job haven been Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse laid the groundwork for the total overhaul of the NDLEA and the numerous successes achieved in a record time.
“On assumption of office, General Marwa changed tact, and he will be on record as the first drug czar to embrace a multi-dimensional and holistic approach that aims to mitigate the harm done by drug use instead of the traditional just-say-no-ism of past helmsmen.
“Within two years, he led the agency to arrest nearly 18,000 drug offenders including 10 notorious barons across the country. Within the same period, over 2,369 persons were convicted and jailed while more than 11,000 drug users were counselled and treated.
“Under Marwa’s watch the NDLEA made mind burgling hard drug hurls in succession. On 18th September 2022, the NDLEA stunned the nation with the announcement of a 1.8 tons of cocaine worth N194 billion seized at a warehouse in Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos, described by the NDLEA as the “biggest singular cocaine seizure in the history of Nigeria’s premier anti-narcotic agency.
“Days ago, the agency also made another seizure of illicit drugs worth N5 billion. Within 24 months, narcotics valued at over N400 billion have been withdrawn from circulation by the NDLEA thereby preventing the illicit substances and cash from being pumped into the society by the drug barons.
“By so doing, General Marwa has saved Nigeria and the world at large from the perils of illicit drug peddling and consumption, his efforts have in no small way help to win the war against Boko Haram insurgents in North-East and bandits in the North-West of Nigeria, by cutting off the much-needed illicit drugs supply needed to fuel the activities of their fighters”.
