Stakeholders tasked on sustainable support for women battling drug addiction

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Mandate Secretary, FCT Women Affairs Secretariat, Honourable Dr. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, has called on stakeholders to create more opportunities for women struggling with drug addiction to access treatment, healing, and reintegration into society.
Benjamins-Laniyi made this point in her address at the “Women Breaking the Silence The Evidence is Clear, The Time is Now” conference, organized by the Al Masaareef Foundation, in partnership with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other advocacy groups in Abuja.
She emphasized the need for compassion, openness, and early intervention in addressing women’s addiction and mental health challenges, urging participants to “break the silence not just for themselves but for others around them.
“What you keep silent about now because you call it a secret between friends you are not a friend; you have become an enemy of her future, encouraging young women to speak out and support one another”.
The conference, which focused on promoting healing and recovery without shame, provided a platform for women, youth, educators, and community leaders to share experiences and strengthen advocacy against drug abuse and stigma.
In her welcome address, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Al Masaareef Foundation, Dr. Hauwa Aminu Wambai, said the initiative was born out of a deep concern for the “quiet pains and hidden endurance” that many women face in silence.
According to her: “The evidence is before us in the rising cases of women struggling with drug abuse or carrying the weight of a loved one battling substance use.
“The time is now to speak, to heal, to support, and to transform.”
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Ngozi Anthonia Madubuike, retired Director of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), NDLEA, commended the Al Masaareef Foundation for convening such a crucial dialogue.
“This event shines a spotlight on women not just as victims of the drug problem, but as powerful agents of change,” she said, citing former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s words that “there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”
A highlight of the event was the testimony of Mrs. Saadatu Musa Usman, a mental health advocate and survivor of drug abuse, who shared her journey of recovery.
Usman said: “Healing is not about removing the substance but treating the why. It’s not about what you did but about what happened to you.
“I stand here not as someone who experienced pain, but as someone who survived it”.
Other speakers, including Inimfon Etuk, Founder of She Forum Africa, and Josie Mudasiru, JP, Founder of JAM Initiative, emphasized purpose-driven living, shared parenting, and community responsibility as key to curbing drug abuse.
A student representative, Ibok Clarice, from Army Day Secondary School, who spoke passionately about the dangers of drug abuse, said” drug abuse leads to addiction and death. I learned that the causes often come from pain, and healing begins when we understand why people turn to drugs”.
The event served as a movement for change, healing, and collective action calling on women and communities to break the silence around drug abuse and mental health challenges while promoting recovery without shame.