Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) has explained why he will legalise the sale of cannabis if elected as Nigerian president.
This was disclosed during an interview session at Agidigbo FM in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Thursday morning.
Sowore explained that his mission to legalise cannabis is because of its commercial value, adding that if the substance is exported to foreign lands, it will help in the diversification of the country’s economy.
He said, “There are some weeds on earth, there are reasons why God created them. For example, cannabis, if you take it the right way, will increase your thinking. I am not taking it but I will legalise it. It is not that you should abuse it.
“In fact, the non-legalisation of cannabis is why people abuse it. There is no place you will reach in Nigeria where you won’t be able to buy cannabis if you want it. They are selling it in the mosque, in the church. Pastors are taking it and Alfas (Islamic clerics) are also taking it. If you want to buy good cannabis, you will get it from NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency). If you know how much they are making from cannabis in this country, you will marvel.
“But what we are saying is that why are you burning cannabis when your budget is N21 trillion? And you are burning cannabis worth N1.5 trillion yearly. Why can’t you sell it to those foreign countries that use it for drugs? They need it for people suffering from arthritis or cancer. Everybody is taking cannabis, it's just that you are not smoking it because analgesic painkillers you are taking, cannabis is there.
“There is no one that is not taking cannabis. There is someone that is taking medications or receiving injections that will not take cannabis.”
“The component that is making people high is just 3 per cent. The rest is medicine, it is money. Canada is making over $4 billion from cannabis. If Ondo, Edo, Sapele in Delta and Ekiti are exporting cannabis, they will not be requesting oil money in Abuja,” Sowore added.
Although cannabis is illegal in Nigeria, the country is a major source of West African-grown cannabis and the world's third-largest consumer of cannabis.
It is widely grown in Nigerian states including Lagos, Edo, Delta, Osun, Oyo, and Ogun.