President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has warned traffickers/dealers of illicit drugs substances to back off from their activities in Liberia, or the government under his watch will leave no stone unturned in making life miserable for them.
In a strongly worded statement delivered recently at the thanksgiving ceremony from rehabilitation to recovery of 127 at-risk youth under the Joint Inter-Sectorial At-Risk Youth Empowerment Program, President Boakai indicated that traffickers and dealers of illicit drugs are in the same skin of heartless criminals; and as such, they must be dealt with accordingly.
According to him, the Government of Liberia (GoL) will combat the trade and consumption of illicit drug through all available legal tools.
“Drug dealers have us to contend with. Those who want to temper with our youth, who are our precious jewels,our future generational leaders, I can safely say that we will make life miserable for them. They are in the same skin of heartless criminals. We will show them the way out. They should expect us to fight them with all legal and available tools. They are enemies of this nation and so we will not allow them to have any peace,” the Liberian leader maintained.
“We will spare no resources in our quest to fight drug abuse and rescue our youth at risk. We plan to shortly engage the Legislature on a number of legislations. For you who have recovered, we will work with you across the country. You are ambassadors of the Rescue Mission,” he furthered.
The President also assured the UN and development partners that their funding towards the fight against drugs and substance abuse will be used for the intended purpose. “We will not be wasteful; we will be a responsible government,” he assured.
“It grieves us as a nation when we see our youth going astray. There will be nothing compared to the youth of this nation being developed. And so, repositioning our country is a must. We are here to partner with people who want to help us give our country a new platform.”
In the spirit of nation building, community development, he noted that curtailing drug abuse is prime, and it was based on this premise that his government made the issue of illicit drug and substance abuse a national emergency.
The President assured that all rehabilitated youth will receive support to be reintegrated into society.
“Our government sees this as a conscious decision. We salute your courage and celebrate the boldness of your positive thought. Thank you for taking the advantage to reclaim your future. I seek to partner with you to make life meaningful. I see President, senators, representatives and ministers in you. You made the right choice and the platform that will make us to help you do better. You shall certainly reap the dividends of your good intention; for you are the life wire of our country and the most potential wire for the growth of this country.”
Youth and Sports Minister, J. Cole Bangalu, in remarks thanked President Boakai for the support to the program.
He disclosed that out of the 178 youth recruited under the program, 127 completed the rehabilitation process and their exit urine drugs test proved negative.
Christine N. Umutoni, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Liberia, described the recovered youth as the victors of the battle against drugs.
“Thank you for making this important choice. Keep focus so that you will not fall again. You have embarked on a journey to change your country positively and other nations,” Umutoni told the graduates.
Grand Cape Mount County Senator and Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Darba Varpilah, lauded President Boakai for his demonstrated commitment to rescue Liberia by first rescuing the young people.
“Thank you for your demonstrated commitment to rescue Liberia by first rescuing the young people. This is the first but an important step,” she maintained.
The Grand Cape Mount County lawmaker then reminded the recovered youth about the daunting challenge ahead.