Gen. Marwa and the NDLEA Nobody Believed Could Work By Arafat A. Abdulrazaq
Fifty-one months ago, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was, to many, a dormant force — bogged down by bureaucracy, starved of relevance, and barely scraping the surface of Nigeria’s drug epidemic.
But that perception has been buried under a landslide of reforms, arrests, convictions, and community-rooted campaigns — all bearing the unmistakable imprint of Brig. Gen. Muhammad Buba Marwa (rtd), a man whose second act in public service is proving even more defining than the first.
Under Marwa’s leadership, the NDLEA has swung into unprecedented action: 62,595 drug suspects arrested, 11,628 convicted, and over 10.3 million kilograms of illicit substances seized. These are not just numbers—they are the bones and breath of a transformed institution.
More than 24,000 drug users have received treatment and rehabilitation. Over 10,500 sensitisation campaigns have spread across schools, markets, motor parks, and worship centres under the bold War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
These victories did not spring from improvisation. They trace their roots to the 2019 Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA), a foundational report co-authored by Marwa and then First Lady Aisha Buhari.
That report, though buried in government shelves at the time, has now become NDLEA’s roadmap for reform: a shift from reactive raids to preventive strategy, from arrests to awareness, from enforcement to empathy.
Since taking office in January 2021, Marwa has unfolded a deliberate agenda: build institutions, not headlines. Through policy blueprints like the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) and operational platforms such as State Drug Control Committees (SDCCs), the NDLEA has decentralised its mission — taking the fight to the grassroots, and giving local communities the tools to resist from within.
A recent high-level training on Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Care (DPTC) in Abuja showcased this pivot to bottom-up reform. It gathered First Ladies from across Nigeria—not as ceremonial guests, but as state-level drivers of change.
Read Also:
In an inspired move, the agency positioned them as SDCC chairpersons, supported by NDLEA commanders. The symbolism was powerful: mothers of the state now stand at the frontline of saving Nigeria’s children.
The agency’s strategy is clear and courageous: activate or strengthen SDCCs across all states; establish at least three functional rehabilitation centres per state; and invest in early detection systems to stop addiction before it begins.
Marwa himself reaffirmed these goals with characteristic clarity: “With the support of our President, this year we are going to upscale the counseling and rehabilitation centres, which currently exist in 30 states. By the grace of God, we will ensure that every state and the FCT has one.”
Even more ambitious is his push for zonal rehabilitation hubs — at least two or three centres to be rolled out within this budget year. For Marwa, the SDCCs are the true engine rooms of reform:
“They are the potent platform for fostering multi-sector collaboration in the task of demand reduction. Kindly remember to cascade these committees down to local governments and communities. That is the only way we can uproot this problem from its source.”
What we are witnessing is a deliberate evolution: from episodic crackdowns to institutionalised prevention. Under Marwa, drug control has broken free of its Abuja-centric shackles. It now lives in state policies, school curriculums, faith-based outreaches, and community conversations.
As Professor Akintunde Ayodokun of LAUTECH aptly remarked during the DPTC session: “Brig. Gen. Marwa was the man people thought accidentally did well in Lagos. But he has done it again, and is that really by accident?”
It is not an accident. It is architecture. Reform by blueprint. Strategy wrapped in foresight and delivered with discipline. The NDLEA Marwa inherited was gasping; the one he leads today is galloping.
Technologically upgraded, mission-driven, and increasingly respected globally, the agency has gone from being reactive to becoming a national rallying point.
Drug control is no longer a forgotten line in policy documents—it is a standing agenda in presidential briefings, gubernatorial roundtables, and village meetings.
Marwa is not just policing drugs. He is rebuilding a national conscience—one that favours healing over punishment, partnership over propaganda, and prevention over panic.
As-Sayyidul Arafat Abdulrazaq is a corps member serving with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), Abuja. He can be reached via: [email protected].
