Insecurity: Tackle small arms proliferation now

One strategic question that is yet to be resolved is how small arms and light weapons with which these criminals perpetrate their nefarious activities circulate.

The country is currently heavily characterized by unprecedented insecurity which has seen some parts of the country overwhelmed by heavy activities of bandits, kidnappers, rapists on rampage. The federal government and various states have designed appropriate responses to curtail this menace to no avail.

One strategic question that is yet to be resolved is how small arms and light weapons with which these criminals perpetrate their nefarious activities circulate.

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This issue which has posed a serious concern forced President Muhammad Buhari recently to embark on gun control measures. The president reportedly signed a law to revoke all firearms or shotgun certificates or licenses in Nigeria with executive powers .

The implication of the said law is that nobody in the country is allowed to own or carry firearms in the country, except authorised officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army, as well as select authorized agencies.

The law also prohibits officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps [NSCDC], as well as relevant security organisations to carry arms and requires all those with all types of firearm licenses or certificates issued to them in the past to hand them over to  the nearest police headquarter in one’s state of residence.

As usual, the law received huge knocks and was painted in colours that portray ethnicity, religious undertones which contravened the true spirit behind the law. The Igbo apex sociocultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo   fired a salvo condemning the order labelling it “a sign that an ominous cloud was gathering in the country”.

The group captured it thus:”This is ominous. The storm is gathering and will soon bare its fangs. The uninitiated continue to wallow in self-deceit until the vultures scavenge for the carcasses. The signs are clear. Why wait for doomsday?”

Gun control measures are not entirely out of place. They are initiated by countries from time to time to check the illegal flow or circulation of guns and to strengthen the security fabrics of a country. But here, the approach is counter- productive and ill- timed, and therefore has generated widespread suspicions. The questions that beggs for urgent resolutions are: “How many gun users in Nigeria operate with licences? If small number of gun users operate with licenses, then how do small arms and light weapons proliferate in an unprecedented dimension in the country?

This emphasizes the need to mop up these sources of small arms and light weapons. The fundamental truth is that our borders are very porous and smuggling these weapons becomes easy. Part of government’s efforts that would be considered serious is to strengthen security along our borders to stall the smuggling of these weapons.

President Muhammadu Buhari also recently realised the level of porosity of our borders when he directed security chiefs to ensure they address the gaps that facilitate the inflow of illegal firearms into the country, as well as the porous borders. One of the international expert opinions is that “stemming the steady flow of conventional arms into vulnerable regions required proper export controls and improvements in the implementation of existing instruments”.

Second  is that there are locations in Nigeria that are gifted with foundry artistry. This is where the locally- made weapons emanate. Another effort would gear towards shutting down these illegal gun manufacturing outlets. Put the other way, what saner climes do would be to tap from the ingenuity of these artisans by gathering them and deploying their ingenuity to good use.

What is happening in Nigeria currently has an international input both in funding and supply of arms. The question is how prepared are we to ensure that the international sources of these groups are plugged so that their strength could be sapped? We know of recent that some sister African countries were and currently engaged in one internal strife or the other. When eventually this strife is abated, the arms used for that purpose find their ways into other locations. Collaborative efforts demand that our borders be strengthened to ensure these weapons do not find their ways into our country. Since we have failed in our responsibility of securing our borders, we have no other option than to pay the price.

Our problem is hydra-headed; internally it is alleged that even arms leak to wrong hands through the efforts of our security agencies. It is unfortunate; our messy situation is deeply owed to our inability to nip the ugly situations in the bud. We always fight when we are neck deep.

Also, the recent crime trend whereby policemen and police formations are attacked and arms carted away by criminal elements begs for urgent and collaborative efforts to nip lest we slip into another form of crime that may overwhelm us in the nearest future.

This arms buildup is not palatable because when arms are allowed to circulate in the hands of unauthorized persons, the consequences are dire.

Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu writes from Abuja