President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, former Military Administrator of Lagos State as the new Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He replaces Col. Muhammad Abdallah, whose tenure ended on January 11.
Marwa, an APC chieftain from Adamawa, was the former military administrator of Lagos State from 1996 to 1999, where he made an impressive mark.
He also served as administrator in Borno between 1990 and 1992.
Before his appointment, he was Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee For The Elimination Of Drug Abuse.
In a report submitted to President Buhari in March, Marwa urged for the declaration of emergency on drug abuse.
His recommendation was anchored on the high prevalence of drug abuse in Nigeria, where an estimated 10.6 million were said to be hooked on cannabis, for example.
“It was found that whereas the global prevalence was 5.6%, in the case of Nigeria, within the ages of 15 and 64 the prevalence was almost triple at 14.4%, which actually translates to 14.3 million Nigerians. We also found that 1 in 4 drug abusers in Nigeria is a woman,” he said.
Marwa was born on September 9, 1953 in Kaduna by parents from Michika in Adamawa State.
He attended the Nigerian Military School, Zaria and the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna.
Later, while in the army, he studied at Pittsburgh University, where he obtained a master’s degree in International Relations.
He also obtained a master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.
He was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant in the Nigerian Army Reconnaissance Corps before moving to the Armoured Corp.
He held various posts in the army, including Brigade Major (23 Armoured Brigade), Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, academic registrar of the Nigerian Defense Academy and deputy defense adviser in the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC.
In 1992, he became the defense adviser to the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
