Ibrahim Hassan writes on the activities of the Journalists Initiatives on Immunisation Against Polio (JAP) aimed at eradicating street hawking of drugs, especially by minors.HAWKING, fake and substandard drugs has remained a debacle to Nigerians; it has caused thousands to be hospitalised, while it has resulted in the untimely death of many.Coupled with the challenges posed by fake and substandard drugs is the issue of street trading by minors. This has brought to an abrupt end the lives of many children, while thousands go about with permanent disabilities occasioned by road accidents in the cause of hawking. In addition to these, millions of Nigerian children have been robbed of education opportunity because of their parents' insistence on the children having to hawk.Following the deaths and unnecessary afflictions caused by fake drugs and hawking by children, the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has embarked on extensive campaigns and mobilisation against the malaise.The campaign was, however, boosted when a few months ago a group of journalists, under the auspices of Journalists Initiatives on Immunisation Against Polio (JAP), lent their support to the campaign by organising mobilisation and communication events in five northern states namely Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa.There were calls for more of the campaigns held with the support of NAFDAC in various local government areas in each state as traditional rulers, market women and youths bought into them and took direct ownership in each of the communities visited.Addressing drug hawkers, child hawkers, parents and other stakeholders on the danger of buying substandard and fake drugs from drug hawkers, most of whom are neither educated nor have knowledge of the drug they vend, JAP was able to win the commitment of the residents in the fight against fake drugs, child hawking and other such acts against the regulation of NAFDAC.Applying various methods such as advocacy visits to traditional rulers, town hall meetings and staging drama pieces with stakeholders, parents of young children as well as drug hawkers themselves, JAP was able to get across to the drug hawkers and parents of children who hawk various foods and drinks when they are supposed to be in school.According to JAP National Team Leader, Mr Kunle Sanni, the group of journalists decided to embark on the campaign against drug hawking and selling of fake drugs in collaboration with NAFDAC as their own contribution to the healthy development of the society, adding that nobody was safe from the menace of fake drugs which could kill and maim.The drug hawkers and parents of the child hawkers in the five states all registered their support for the various activities aimed at ridding the country of fake drug and child hawkers.While acknowledging that their activities were not only illegal but also inimical to the health of Nigerians having been told of the effects of hawked drugs on the health of the consumers, the youths hawking drugs appealed to the federal and state governments to help them acquire vocational skills that would enable them earn their living in other professions and cater for their families without further recourse to illegal hawking of drugs.The drug hawkers, who said they were not happy hawking drugs, lamented that it exposed them to all kinds of harsh weather and other hazards, since they didn't have any shop where they could keep the drugs and await customers thus they had to trek long distances under harsh weather conditions, including rain and blazing sunlight just to make ends meet.Spokesman of the drug hawkers at the event in Kaduna, Mallam Ahmed Aliyu; expressed their readiness to leave the illegal business but their concern was the danger of being unemployed in the face of harsh economic conditions in the country.He said, 'We thank JAP and journalists for organising an event like this. We are ready to leave this business of hawking drugs because it's a tasking business, as we have to hawk in all weathers and mostly in the night or in remote areas where the NAFDAC and security agents will not be able to harass us.'We are willing to stop hawking drugs but government must help to train our members in vocational skills that would enable us feed and cater for our families. Government, through the NAFDAC, should also help some of our members who are versed in the trade to set up chemist shops where they can sell their drugs without harassments from security agencies.'The traditional rulers in Zamfara State, where JAP organised sensitisation and enlightening programmes against fake and hawked drugs in Gusau and Tsafe, endorsed the campaign and supported it.Emir of Tsafe, Alhaji Habibu Aliyu, said the Tsafe Emirate Council would always support all actions in favour of their tradition, religion and the welfare of the people. 'Enlightening our people on the dangers of fake drugs, usually sold by street vendors is a good idea and would assist in sanitising people on the need to protect their health.'Also in Katsina State, where another event took place in Katsina and Kayauki in Batagarawa LGA, the support from traditional rulers, youths and drug hawkers were overwhelming as they all expressed their support for the programme. They all expressed their readiness to lend a hand for the eradication of fake drugs in Nigeria by outlawing drug hawking, even as they implored government at the various tiers to find job for the hawkers to enable them earn their living and not to add more burden to the unemployment problems currently bedevilling the country.The Ward Head of Babban Gari in Marabusawa Quarters of Dutse in Jigawa State, Alhaji Nasiru Idris, said patronage to drug hawkers is tantamount to writing one's death sentence just as he added that preventing the hawkers from continuing with their business might also result in joblessness which could lead the former drug hawkers into crimes.Speaking in Dutse at a local theatre and town hall meeting in Marabusawa, the traditional ruler said, 'For government to successfully discourage the drug hawkers from the business, it owes them a duty to also substitute the business with another that is not harmful. There is need to carry out more enlightenment campaigns to the public on the dangers inherent in the consumption of such drugs which has been affected by various harsh weathers.'Alhaji Idris, however, congratulated the journalists for their roles in improving the health and wellbeing of Nigerians adding that they needed to do more on expanding the campaign to more remotes areas of the state where drug hawking and patronage was more rampant.Responding to the monarch, JAP Team Leader, Mr. Kunle Sanni, said the sensitisation programme held in two local government areas each in Jigawa and Kano states, in conjunction with the NAFDAC, was part of the campaign to sensitise the unsuspecting public on the dangers of child hawking and consumption of drugs from hawkers and also to discourage drug vendors from such acts.He added that the JAP activities were part of journalists' little contribution to national development and improvement of child and maternal health to reduce maternal mortality and child morbidity.
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