Two hundred teachers selected from the 21 local government areas of Kebbi State are in the process of being trained in administering Unplugged, a novel school-based drug prevention programme in secondary schools throughout the State. This training is part of a programme funded by the European Union (EU) and implementated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and Kebbi State Ministry of Education under the auspices of the project ‘Response to Drugs and Related Organised Crime in Nigeria’.
Unplugged is an evidence based programme with twelve sessions to prevent the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs aimed at children from the ages of 10-14 year old. The Unplugged programme involves the provision of training to teachers and resource material to schools. It is delivered to young teens at school based on a social influences approach to promote positive health behavior generally and substance abuse prevention specifically.
The Unplugged programme was adapted for Nigeria and then tested through a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) that involved 32 schools. This was done over the 2015-2017. The results of the RCT are available now and indicate that the programme was successful in reducing behaviour related to tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use among the target group. The apparent phenomena of the youth of Nigeria commencing to use these drugs as a younger age, has increased the sense of urgency amongst parents, teachers and communities in the state for the development of proactive approaches to deal with this dangerous trend.
An initiative of the Wife of the Governor of Kebbi State, Dr. Zainab Bagudu, the intervention is to stem drug abuse and sub-stance misuse in Kebbi State. The Office of the Wife of the Gover-nor of Kebbi State is leading other ministries and agencies to develop a long term strategic plan to deal with menace of drug abuse and substance misuse in the state. The apparent phenom-ena of the youth of Nigeria commencing to use these drugs as a younger age, has increased the sense of urgency amongst parents, teachers and communities in the state for the development of proactive approaches to deal with this dangerous trend.
Earlier this year, a two-day drug prevention, treatment and care sensitization programme was held in Abuja for Northern Governors First Wives Association from 6-8 February 2018. As an outcome of that, the Federal Ministry of Education and UNODC was approached by First Lady of Kebbi state to start the Unplugged programme in Kebbi. In the spirit of partnership and sustainability, the State Government will pay for the training and UNODC will supply the material and the cost of trainers. The State Government plans to train 200 teachers.
The first phase of the training focused on training of 48 teachers on Unplugged Target groups are adolescents from the ages of 12-14 years in Kebbi state. During a visit to observe the training at first hand, the Wife of the Governor expressed satisfaction at the level of enthusiasm and commitment shown by teachers for the training programme. However, she reminded the teachers that efforts aimed at tackling the issue of drug abuse and substance misuse can only succeed when everyone takes their responsibilities seriously. She therefore urged and appealed to teachers to improve the qual-ity of education in the state and help safeguard the future of children under their charge.
To acknowledge the importance of the Unplugged Training programme in Kebbi State, Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu also paid a visit to observe the Unplugged training in action. Participants introduced the elements of group work they were working on or discussing. The Governor commended the teachers for their hard work and advised them to take into cognizance the unique features or circumstances in their immediate environment so that their work can have the right impact and be successful.
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