By Rose Oranye
Between Monday, November 9, and Thursday, November 12, 2026, something important happened in Anambra State. The Anambra State Government, through the Value Reformation Project of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, and the Solution War Against Drug Abuse (SWADA) of the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), went to sensitise selected Anambra communities on the NDLEA Alternative Development Programme. It was not just a visit. It was a rescue mission.
Our people in Nanka, Oraifite, Nkwelle, Nimo, Abatete, Ogidi, Nnewi and Obosi heard the message directly. And the message is clear: Anambra must return to who we are.
This effort did not happen by accident. It followed the vision of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, who wants to bring Anambra back to its enviable status as the true Light of the Nation. That is why he added the additional mandate of Value Reformation to the Ministry of Information.
Under the leadership of Dr Law Mefor, the Ministry identified the fight against drug trafficking and abuse as one of the areas that needs serious attention if we must get Ndi Anambra and residents reformed, and to uphold our major values of uche, uchu na egwu Chukwu — wisdom, hard work and fear of God — including our age-long proverb of aka aja aja na-ebute onu mmanu mmanu.
Dr Mefor visited stakeholders in that regard, including the Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, and the Anambra State Commandant of NDLEA, Commander Charles O. Onubuogu. It was during that visit that NDLEA brought the idea of the Alternative Development Programme, which Dr Mefor grabbed and wasted no time in writing to the NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Marwa, to consider bringing the programme to Anambra State. He also notified the Ministry of Health, and thus the partnership was born.
The visit of the National Coordinator of the NDLEA Alternative Development Programme, Dr Jonas Kolo, and his deputy, Mr Idris Abdulahi, to sensitise Anambra communities is the first step to the beginning of the programme, after which three communities will be picked.
NDLEA is known for arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. And that law still stands. In fact, under the new law signed by the President, a convicted drug offender now faces a minimum of 15 years imprisonment, with no option of fine.
But NDLEA has also brought something new to Nigeria, and Anambra is the chosen state from the South-East to start it. It is called Alternative Development.
Nigeria has been recognised by the United Nations as the first country in Africa to institutionalise Alternative Development. It is funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria, supported by the United Nations, the Government of Germany and the Government of Thailand. It has worked in Lagos, and it has worked in Thailand, Mexico and Colombia. It turns drug communities into drug-free, developed communities.
The essence is simple: We are not only here to arrest you. We are here to save you. If you are a drug user, a courier, a distributor, or a baron, this is your chance to leave drugs and be empowered. You will choose what you want to do — agriculture, fashion designing, fabrication, baking, or any other legitimate business. The community will gather, the wealthy and influential among them will support, NDLEA, the Federal Government and the United Nations will bring their support, and together they will invest in our people.
That is the true meaning of value reformation. It is not punishment first. It is persuasion first. It is pleading with our people first. That is what Dr Mefor meant when he said they will use legislation, moral suasion and enforcement to drive the value reformation project. What was done during the visits to communities is moral suasion. After that, enforcement will follow.
Our Governor is building roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure across Anambra. Who will use them if our youths are lost to drugs? Drugs destroy your liver, destroy your brain, and destroy your future. One touch of drug is enough to get you addicted. Cultism, kidnapping, rape, and other crimes are mostly done by drug users. And when drug lords are celebrated like celebrities, our young ones want to be like them. We must end that cycle.
Ndi Anambra, let us not wait for arrest before we change. Let us embrace this opportunity.
Traditional rulers, Presidents-General, youth leaders, students, and others who were sensitised in the communities visited should tell their people not to run away from NDLEA. This programme is for them. They should come out and be helped; come and be free; come and be beneficial to themselves and society.
We must win this war against drugs together. Say no to drugs today. Secure your future. Secure Anambra’s future.
Ndi Anambra, this is our moment.
- Rose Oranye is of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Anambra State.
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