Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, has raised alarm that commuter bus drivers in the state now take cocaine and engage in other substance abuse, warning that it is a dangerous trend that is akin to taking a gamble with people’s lives. He said this must stop.
According to the governor, at least 162 bus drivers in two motor parks in the state tested positive for cocaine and marijuana while 996 others in three parks were found to be driving under the influence of excessive alcohol.
Fashola made this known on Thursday during a Motor Park Health and Safety Awareness Campaign organised by the State Ministries of Health and Transportation in partnership with Guinness Nigeria Plc. The event took place at the New Garrage Motor Park, Bariga.
According to Fashola, tests conducted on 988 bus drivers at Oyingbo Motor Park revealed that 59 drivers tested positive for cocaine while another test conducted on bus drivers at Iyana Ipaja Motor Park showed that out of the 1,025 drivers tested, 103 of them tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.
He explained further that 884 motor drivers were screened at Ojota Motor Park, where 239 of them, representing 27% of those screened, were hypertensive, while 86 people representing 10% of those screened were found to be diabetic; 60 drivers representing 7% tested positive to substance abuse, and 287 people representing 32% of those screened had excessive blood alcohol level.
At the Oyingbo motor park campaign, 988 people were tested out of which 363 or 37% of the people were hypertensive; 156 or 16% had diabetes, 59 or 6% tested positive for cocaine or marijuana, and 494 or 50% tested positive for alcohol.
While at the campaign at Iyana Ipaja motor park, 1,025 people were screened and 162 people or 16% had hypertension, 71 people or 7% had diabetes, 103 or 10% tested positive for cocaine or marijuana and 215 or 21% had excessive alcohol in their blood system, he disclosed.
Fashola said since the inception of the campaign in 2011, at least 2,500 public transportation and commuter vehicle drivers had been screened for blood alcohol content, substance abuse, hypertension and diabetes as well as health education and enlightenment.
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