The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has called for renewed efforts to protect the girl-child from systemic vulnerabilities that expose women and young people to drug abuse, exploitation and other social vices.
Marwa made the call on Saturday in Kaduna at the public presentation of In the Shadow of the Neem Tree, a novel authored by his daughter, Barrister Mariam Marwa-Abdu.
Speaking at the event, Marwa stressed that protecting girls is fundamental to safeguarding families and securing the nation’s future.
“By protecting the girl-child, we protect the family, and by protecting the family, we secure the nation,” he said.
Drawing from his experience as head of the nation’s anti-narcotics agency, Marwa said poverty, abuse, lack of education and other systemic challenges continue to drive women and young people into drug abuse and exploitation.
“As the Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, I see firsthand every day how systemic vulnerabilities like poverty, abuse, and lack of education drive women and youth toward drug abuse and exploitation,” he said.
He noted that while government and non-governmental organisations have important roles to play, the responsibility of protecting vulnerable groups must be embraced by every segment of society, particularly traditional institutions.
According to him, advocacy such as that championed by the author represents the first line of defence against harmful cultural practices.
Commending Mariam for her courage and commitment, Marwa urged Nigerians to ensure the message contained in the book reaches every corner of society.
Reflecting on the significance of the occasion as both a father and an author, Marwa described the event as a proud family milestone.
He said the publication of In the Shadow of the Neem Tree made Mariam the fourth of his children to become a published author, noting that all four of his eldest children are lawyers who have embraced writing as a tool for social change.
“I have always believed in the power of the written word to reshape society,” he said, adding that seeing his children document human experiences and challenge societal ills was “the greatest legacy a father could ask for.”
Marwa explained that the novel confronts the painful reality of child marriage and its devastating consequences on young girls.
Using the neem tree—a familiar symbol of shade and refuge in many northern communities—as a metaphor, he said the book exposes the irony that beneath such trees, silent traditional arrangements are sometimes made that rob girls of their childhood, education, health and future.
He praised the author for combining her legal expertise with storytelling to shine a light on the dangers of early marriage and stimulate conversations that could lead to lasting social reform.
Speaking earlier, Mariam Marwa-Abdu, founder of the Women and Children’s Rights and Empowerment Foundation (WCREF), described the book as more than a work of fiction.
She said it is a literary expression of the advocacy she has pursued since establishing the foundation in 2011, adding that the organisation has spent more than a decade translating the ideals captured in the novel into practical interventions for women and children.
Also speaking, the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, represented by the Barden Kerarriyan Zazzau and District Head of Basawa, Architect Haruna Abubakar Bamalli, expressed optimism that the book would serve as a catalyst for individual and collective development while inspiring, sustained action to protect vulnerable members of society.
The event attracted government officials, traditional rulers, legal practitioners, civil society organisations and advocates for women’s and children’s rights, who commended the initiative as a timely contribution to the campaign against child marriage and gender-based vulnerabilities.
