Marwa seeks increased funding for mental healthcare

By Adebola Muili

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has called for increased funding for mental healthcare in Nigeria, warning that drug abuse and mental illness reinforce each other and must be tackled together.

Marwa said efforts to combat substance abuse would remain incomplete if the underlying psychological and emotional problems driving drug use were not addressed.

He made the call on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, while chairing the fifth edition of The Conversation Conference (TCC 5.0), organised by Intersect Consortium at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.

According to a statement issued by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Marwa said the agency’s rehabilitation experience had shown that untreated depression, trauma and other emotional difficulties could contribute to substance abuse.

He said society must move beyond treating mental health as a private problem surrounded by stigma and silence, stressing that effective drug control required greater attention to the circumstances that made people vulnerable to substance use.

“Behind many cases of drug abuse is untreated pain: depression nobody noticed, trauma nobody addressed, a young person who found a substance before finding help,” Marwa said.

He added that drug use and mental illness fed each other, warning that focusing only on arrests without addressing the underlying causes would mean missing a critical part of the problem.

Speaking on the conference theme of strategic investments, partnerships and community-led action, the NDLEA boss said mental wellbeing could not thrive in communities where poverty and hopelessness pushed people towards harmful behaviours.

He cited the agency’s intervention in three pilot communities in Ondo State, where residents who previously depended on illicit cultivation were supported to develop legitimate livelihoods.

According to him, the initiative demonstrated how community-driven economic opportunities could reduce vulnerability, strengthen families and improve wellbeing.

Marwa said the NDLEA planned to expand the model nationwide and called on development partners and other stakeholders to support the initiative.

He also highlighted the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which targets young people in schools, campuses and communities, as well as its toll-free helpline that provides round-the-clock assistance to people facing drug-related challenges.

Marwa disclosed that more than 53,843 persons had passed through the NDLEA’s 31 rehabilitation facilities across the country in the last five years.

He said the figure represented people given opportunities to recover, reunite with their families and return to education and productive activities.

On healthcare financing, Marwa called for increased investment in prevention, trained personnel and accessible treatment, arguing that mental health should no longer receive inadequate attention in public health budgets.

He urged the government and relevant stakeholders to recruit more psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and community health workers, while integrating mental health services into primary healthcare to improve access, particularly in underserved communities.

He also called for equitable funding to ensure that mental healthcare was not restricted to people who could afford the cost of treatment.

Marwa urged stakeholders to prioritise women, children and other vulnerable groups, including survivors of violence, displaced mothers, girls without adequate support, persons with disabilities and families affected by conflict.

He said recovery was more sustainable when support extended beyond individuals to their families and households.

The NDLEA chief further called for stronger collaboration among the health, education, security, justice and social welfare sectors, stressing that no single institution could effectively address the country’s mental health and drug abuse challenges.

He commended Vice President Kashim Shettima, who was represented at the conference by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, for his support for the event, saying such participation underscored the importance of mental health to national development.

Marwa urged participants to commit to funding effective interventions, expanding proven community-based programmes, prioritising vulnerable people and holding stakeholders accountable for results.