Counsellor Urges Establishment Of Drug-Free Clubs In Schools

A Professor of Counsellor Psychology, Olawunmi Badejo of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, has urged all levels of educational institutions and counsellors to establish drug-free clubs for students to engage in extra-curricular activities.

Badejo gave the advice at the 80th inaugural lecture of the institution in Lagos on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the inaugural lecture was: “Counsellors: Catalyst For Societal Equilibrium”.

She said the establishment of drug-free clubs was very important and students just coming off drugs should be encouraged to join such clubs by counsellors so they could remain drug-free.

“When students come in new to the university or higher institution, the counsellor should use the opportunity of the orientation week to give them a symposium on drug abuse.

“This is because experience has shown that it is during the week of orientation that students are recruited into various secret cults and drug abusers.

“The counsellor should be conversant with the trend of drugs that young people abuse from time to time such as colorado, Arizona, shisha, tramadol and so on.

“In line with the National Universities Commission standard for universities, the counselling unit should be upgraded to a centre of counselling,” Badejo said.

She defined counselling as a process whereby a professionally-trained individual known as a counsellor provides one-on-one assistance to an individual to make accurate and appropriate decisions.

“This decision can either be educational, vocational or socio-personal.

“For societal equilibrium to be achieved, it must start from home.

“Each family has to start with value orientation of young ones and this has to be through primary, secondary and tertiary education and at the workplace,” Badejo said.

She noted that for proper values to be inculcated in the society, the home environment had to be filled with empathy, generosity and others.

“I, therefore, wish to say without equivocation that counsellors are the pivot for a stable society; they are the catalyst for societal equilibrium,” Badejo said.