Date: 2018-03-27

Pharmacist and Founder of Livingstream Foundation, Grace Ahmed, has called on Nigerian youths to channel their energy into arts instead of engaging in drug abuse.

Ahmed made the call during the Foundation's first art exhibition for youths in tertiary institutions on Monday in Ilorin, Kwara State, north-central Nigeria.

The theme was: "Engaging children and adolescents to end drug abuse".

Mrs. Ahmed said that the programme was geared at sensitising youths to create alternative to drug abuse.

She urged them to explore their creative abilities, saying that every individual had creative ability or the other.

"Our foundation decided to look into arts, as an alternative for youths to be productive. There is so much you can do with your lives," she told the youths.

Ahmed, however, pointed out that about 40 per cent of the youths in the country were already engaged in drug abuse.

She also warned that the ripple effect of drug abuse was dangerous for the nation, if not curtailed.

Also, Mr Bakau Aliu, the Chairman of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Kwara Chapter, noted that there were increased cases of drug abuse in the country.

He lamented that women now abuse drugs to escape depressing aspect of life and life challenges.

Aliu called on the youths to engage in recreational activities and channel their energy into fruitful ventures.

A lecturer at the Department of Fine Art and Applied Art, Kwara State University, (KWASU), Dr Binta Suleiman advised the youths that almost everything in life had an element of art in it.

"Art is self-expression, and making beautiful things and you have talents in you that you can explore," she told them.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants for the exhibition were drawn from Kwara State University (KWASU), Kwara Polytechnic and Colleges of Education.

NAN