Brig Gen Maxwell obuba Mantey
The Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Brig Gen Maxwell Obuba Mantey, has emphasised the involvement of all stakeholders in combating the rising threat of drug abuse among young people in the country.
According to him, the fight requires effort from all in society to come together to ensure that the menace is curtailed dispassionately, adding that the fight against hard drugs is a whole-of-society duty, which requires schools, families, traditional authorities, alumni, and private partners working as an ecosystem of protection.
Brig Gen Maxwell Obuba Mantey, who was the guest speaker, made the comments at the Benkum Senior High School’s reunion and fundraising event for a physical education and fitness centre, held on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at the school’s premises in Akuapem Larteh.
The event was mainly to raise funds to build an ultra-modern sports complex to nurture future leaders who are “mentally sharp, physically fit and emotionally resilient.”
“The battle against drugs is not just NACOC’s responsibility. It is a shared duty, for schools, families, traditional authorities, alumni, and the entire community,” Brig Gen Mantey stated.
He added that in Ghana today, substances such as tramadol, Red 225, synthetic opioids, cannabis and other new psychoactive substances are threatening the lives of the youth.
Brig Gen Mantey, a former school prefect of Benkum Senior High School, noted that NACOC has intensified its education and prevention programmes in schools and communities across the country to ensure that the advocacy against the indiscriminate usage of hard drugs among the youth, especially among students in schools, is achieved.
“NACOC is mandated to implement preventive education, and I call on each of you, especially students, to be the first line of defence and remember that prevention is always cheaper and more sustainable than rehabilitation,” Brig Gen Mantey stressed.
Students were urged to protect their minds and guard their ambitions by remaining focused on their education, to enable them to become useful in the society. “I challenge you to choose books over drugs, discipline over shortcuts, and focus over distractions,” he added.
“We must treat the hard drug abuse menace among the youth as a public-private partnership, where efforts must be put in place to turn the narrative into a force for sustainable youth empowerment,” he pointed out.
The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. David Owusu, an alumnus of the school, urged students to abstain from all forms of nefarious acts that would impede their future aspirations but focus on their studies, to enable them to attain good grades.
The event was also graced by the Deputy Director-General of NACOC in charge of Enforcement, Control and Elimination, Mr. Alexander Twum-Barimah.