In a coordinated nationwide push to confront the rising tide of substance abuse among Nigerian youths, the MTN Foundation on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, simultaneously convened State Stakeholders’ Conferences in Ilorin, Kwara State, and Kaduna, Kaduna State, under its flagship Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP).
At both locations, the Foundation unveiled plans to reach more than 20,000 students in 50 public secondary schools across 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), alongside specialised training for 250 teachers, an expansion designed to deepen prevention and early intervention among young Nigerians aged 10 to 25.
The Kwara State Government loaned its voice to the campaign. The Commissioner for Youth Development, Ambassador Ndanusa Usman, called for the eradication of drug abuse and urged parents and guardians to pay closer attention to their children, stressing that “the future of their children is worth more than their daily attention to other social involvements.” Similarly, the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Eng. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, represented by the Chairperson of the House Committee on Information, Ruqayat Shittu, charged Nigerian youths to fully achieve their potential by strictly keeping away from illicit drugs.
The Chairman of the MTN Foundation, Dr. Mosun Belo-Olusoga, represented by Valentina Obayemi, Senior Lead, Sales and Trade Development, MTN Nigeria, described substance abuse as a pressing threat confronting Nigerian youths and called for sustained collaboration among government institutions, schools, families, development partners, and the private sector. She explained that participating students would benefit from drug awareness education and quiz competitions designed to discourage illicit substance use, while “the teachers selected for the programme would be equipped with practical skills to identify early warning signs of substance abuse, provide support for vulnerable students and facilitate referrals where necessary.”
Valentina warned that “the increasing availability of new psychoactive substances and emerging drug-related threats make early intervention and preventive education more critical than ever,” pledging that the Foundation would continue to strengthen partnerships with tertiary institutions, deepen grassroots engagement through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and sustain support for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) 24-hour toll-free psychosocial support helpline.
The Foundation also disclosed at both conferences that since its establishment in 2004 as the corporate social responsibility vehicle of MTN Nigeria, it has invested more than ₦32.2 billion in social development initiatives spanning health, capacity building, and economic empowerment interventions that have impacted over 32 million lives in 3,604 communities across 590 local government areas in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.