NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has urged traditional rulers to help protect the girl-child, saying stronger support for vulnerable girls will reduce drug abuse, exploitation and other social problems.
Marwa made the call on Saturday, July 11, 2026, during the public presentation of In The Shadow of the Neem Tree, a book written by his daughter, Barrister Mariam Marwa-Abdu, in Kaduna.
He said protecting vulnerable girls should not rest on the government and non-governmental organisations alone. Instead, every stakeholder, especially traditional institutions, must take responsibility.
Marwa said his work as NDLEA Chairman has shown him how poverty, abuse and lack of education push many women and young people into drug abuse and exploitation.
“By protecting the girl-child, we protect the family, and by protecting the family, we secure the nation,” he said.
He added: “Advocacy like Mariam’s is the first line of defence. We cannot leave this battle to the government or non-governmental organisations alone. We need the partnership of our revered traditional institutions, led by custodians of culture like His Royal Highness, the Emir of Zazzau, to shift the cultural paradigm. We must protect our daughters, educate them, and give them the wings to fly.”
Marwa praised the author for her courage, intellect and compassion. He said she had made him and the entire family proud.
He urged everyone at the event to help spread the message in the book across the country.
Speaking on the significance of the occasion, Marwa said writing has always been part of his family’s values. He noted that he had written three books himself.
He also said his children had continued that tradition. According to him, Abu published a book available on Amazon, Colonel Mohamed Marwa has written three books and co-authored a fourth with him, Dr. Zainab has written two books, while Barrister Mariam has now become the family’s fourth published author.
“To see all four of my eldest children, who are all coincidentally lawyers, pick up the pen to fight societal ills and document human experiences is the greatest legacy a father could ask for. We have become practically a family of authors,” he said.
Marwa said In The Shadow of the Neem Tree tackles the painful reality of early marriage and its impact on young girls.
He explained that the neem tree provides shade in many northern communities. Yet, he said, some harmful traditional arrangements that destroy the future of young girls also happen under its shade.
He said early marriage takes away a girl’s childhood, education, health and opportunity to contribute meaningfully to society. He added that Mariam used her legal knowledge and storytelling skills to expose the harmful effects of the practice.
Mariam Marwa-Abdu said the book is more than fiction. She described it as a literary manifesto for the work she has pursued throughout her career.
She said she founded the Women and Children’s Rights and Empowerment Foundation (WCREF) in 2011.
Through the organisation, she has spent more than a decade turning the message of the book into practical action.
The Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, represented by Architect Haruna Abubakar Bamalli, the Barden Kerarriyan Zazzau and District Head of Basawa, expressed hope that the event would inspire both individual and collective development.
External links
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA): https://ndlea.gov.ng
Federal Ministry of Women Affairs: https://womenaffairs.gov.ng
UNICEF Nigeria – Child Protection: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/child-protection
