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How Nigerians Reacted to NDLEA Collaboration with Naira Marley

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Some Nigerians have taken to social media to criticise the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for collaborating with Naira Marley.

On Thursday, the agency enlisted the singer for its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA spokesperson, in a post on X — formerly Twitter — said the agency will on Friday put out the singer’s first message against drug abuse.

“See who’s on board ⁦@ndlea_nigeria War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign; it’s Naira Marley. Watch out for his message to Nigerian youths,” he wrote.

In a follow-up post, Babafemi shared a video of Naira Marley encouraging Nigerians to desist from drug abuse because “it is not good for your well-being”.

In the footage, the singer said drug abuse increases crime rates. He also said he is supporting the NDLEA campaign to “stop substance abuse in any form”.

“I would like to urge my fans and Nigerian youths to stop drugs because it is not good for your wellbeing. Let us stop substance abuse in any form,” he said.

https://twitter.com/FemiBabafemi/status/1692202778561589571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1692202778561589571%7Ctwgr%5Eb7bc10c43b5b156d58afbc9d4d53278c6c3e5636%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyle.thecable.ng%2Fndlea-under-fire-naira-marley-advocate-drug-abuse%2F

“I have keyed into this campaign to support NDLEA to stop drugs on the streets. Please join us. It is really not good. It makes you go back into crime and it does a lot of things to you.”

Naira Marley made headlines in 2022 after the NDLEA arrested Zinoleesky and Mohbad, his record label signee and former label artiste, respectively.

The musicians were arrested along with four others “after some amounts of Cannabis and Molly were recovered from their apartment and car.”

Naira Marley released a video of himself smoking extensively while in the midst of his squad shortly after their detention.

The NDLEA’s partnership with the artist has sparked outrage on the microblogging platform.

The majority of X users argued that Naira Marley is not the proper celebrity to speak to young people about drug misuse.

“It’s funny to see someone of Naira Marley’s status represent war against drug abuse but sometimes you fight poison with poison and I believe NDLEA’s partnership with him was intentional,” a user wrote.

Another user wrote: “NDLEA using Naira Marley to tell youths to stop doing drugs is very unprofessional. We have a drug pandemic in Nigeria. It’s a very serious issue and any message they’re passing should be intentional”.

A user alleged that “He must have smoked two wraps before coming for the interview”.

Here are what some users had to say below:

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