CALABAR— The Cross River State Government (CRSG) has launched an educational orientation campaign across secondary schools in the Southern Senatorial District aimed at reorienting students on moral discipline, career focus, and the dangers of drug abuse NEGROIDHAVEN can report.
The initiative, tagged “Educational Orientation Summit for Secondary Schools,” carries the theme “From Distraction to Distinction: Empowering Students to Overcome Social Pressure, Drug Temptation and Career Confusion.”
Speaking at the flag-off event held on Wednesday at Government Secondary School, Barracks Road, Calabar Municipality, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Orientation, Comrade Afufu Anthony, said the summit seeks to “format poor orientation and install better values” among students to prepare them as responsible future leaders.
According to Afufu, the programme marks the first phase of a state-wide student engagement initiative targeted at public secondary schools.
“We have done orientation summits across all higher institutions in the state. Now, we are extending this reorientation drive to secondary schools to correct poor values early,” he explained.
“The goal is to ensure students stay away from drug abuse, peer pressure, and social vices that can derail their future. We want them to be assets, not liabilities, to society,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics (ASN I), Eyo Effiong Okon, who represented the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said the campaign is critical because drug abuse has become a major distraction among young people.
“One of the highest distractions among students today is drug abuse. It has entered so deeply into the fabric of our society that we cannot ignore it,” Okon stated.
“Nobody plans to become a drug addict — it starts small, often from peer pressure or curiosity. But before long, it ruins lives and families. That is why education and awareness are essential,” he said.
Okon noted that while exact figures are unavailable, the NDLEA estimates that a majority of youths in Cross River state are involved in some form of substance abuse, including alcohol, cigarettes, and synthetic mixtures such as “Kolos” — a combination of cannabis, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
On his part, Comrade Michael Iwara Emmanuel, Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South-South Zone, commended the initiative, saying the campaign would help address moral decay among young people.
He called on families, religious institutions, and the media to join in the effort to sanitize youth culture and promote positive values.
The Orientation Summit, a collaborative effort between the Cross River State Government, the NDLEA, and student bodies, will continue across other schools in the Southern Senatorial District before expanding to Central and Northern Cross River.
