There are far too many guns in the land

Sometime in February this year, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani was in the news, where he claimed that there were about 200 million illegal firearms in circulation Nigeria, and that the figure represented 80 per cent of 250 million illegal firearms in West Africa. While I am hesitant to believe such a massive number, I […]

Sometime in February this year, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani was in the news, where he claimed that there were about 200 million illegal firearms in circulation Nigeria, and that the figure represented 80 per cent of 250 million illegal firearms in West Africa. While I am hesitant to believe such a massive number, I am quite certain it is close to the actual picture of things. And the worst part? It might grow worse. If you wonder why I am saying so, especially with the seizure of smuggled arms and ammunition by security agents on a regular basis (good job, by the way), I will counter by reminding us, that not all could possibly be thwarted.

Governor Sani had also said he attempted to update the outdated Firearms Act during his time in the Senate, which he said has not been amended for over 30 years now. He said: “The Firearms Act in Nigeria is not in line with the global best practices. Nigeria is the only country where you can be arrested with illegal firearms and can be taken to court, and you can be released based on some charges and not imprisonment. You can pay a fine of about N50,000 and go home. That is why I started emphasising (firearms control) when the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) tabled the report when I was in the Senate that about 200 million illegal firearms are in circulation in Nigeria out of the 250 million in circulation in West Africa.”

While the governor added that state policing would reduce the threat of instability that afflicts much of the North, it is worth noting that similar structures elsewhere in Nigeria are causing more guns to spread, with no proper means of tracking or monitoring. In my opinion, the way Nigeria is today, the creation of state police would be a grave mistake. We know the main issues, so I won’t bore anyone with a regurgitation of facts. But one of the main ones remains the fact that they could be easily used (and abused) by those in power. Interestingly, earlier this year, many governors, including Kaduna State’s, were agitating for state police, buttressing my point. The scary part, though, is that on February 16, the Federal Government and (you guessed right) state governors agreed on creating state police.

While the calls on social media for state police is probably the work of troll farms, the few actual people who voice it are simply reacting to the trauma of our collective security situation. Granted, kidnapping, banditry, and to an extent even insurgency, are still rife, is the solution getting more arms out there? We could strengthen our armed forces and police even more, and build on an existing structure, which if we are being honest is not operating at optimum capability or strength. I am just perplexed at the extent of Ostrich Syndrome we are employing on the state police issue, when it is crystal-clear that it is not a smart idea.

• Food crisis: Reclaim farmlands from criminals
• Sustainable solutions to avert looming crisis in Nigerian public universities

One can tell there is an active drive for state police, even in news stories and headlines, creeping in from interviews and op-ed pieces and even news stories. A reputable news organisation even reported thusly: “While Nigerian governors have been pushing for state police, regional groups in the country have established security outfits to complement the Federal Government-funded police and other security institutions in the country.” The key word is ‘complement’, making everything sound benign and harmless, totally kosher even.

There are still attacks on civilians in many states across the regions of Nigeria, with alarming death tolls and injury tallies. Hotspots like Zamfara are almost always in the news for one attack or the other, with unbelievable number of innocents snuffed out by ‘bandits’ and whatever exotic name we have for gun-toting, bloodthirsty marauders that plague our country. Do we really need to add to the number of guns out there for these criminals to mop up? At the risk of sounding like a scratched CD (outdated reference, I know), we would do well to leave the job to the police, and our various arms of service of the armed forces.

In case you are not sufficiently bothered, ponder these: The illicit arms flooding our country come primarily from artisanal manufacturing, with about 73% of weapons seized between 2014 and 2017 in Southern Nigeria found to be locally-manufactured. Don’t forget weapons misplaced or stolen from the security services’ armouries, like how the Nigeria Police Force reportedly cannot account for 178,459 firearms, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles, and pistols. Then add the arms that organised criminal groups smuggle into Nigeria which I mentioned at the beginning. Regardless of their origin, arms proliferation is a critical factor in the current security crisis. While there are far too many guns out there in our dear nation, we need to have many sensible people thinking about the solutions, too, not adding to the problems.