The United Nations recently put the number of small arms and light weapons (SALW) circulating in West Africa at 500 million.  At least 70 per cent of these weapons are said to be in Nigeria.  The Director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, Miss Olatokunbo Ige, disclosed these figures at a seminar organised by the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Abuja, last week.

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At the seminar, entitled “National Consultation on Physical Security and Stockpile Management”, Miss Ige raised the alarm on the proliferation of illegal arms, many of which are in the hands of groups that are threatening the security of Nigerians and the continuing existence of the country. If the spread of these weapons is left unchecked, she said, it will not only jeopardize the development gains of the last 50 years, it will impede further development of the country and negatively affect the welfare of the next generation.
All Africans, especially Nigerians, should be disturbed by this problem.  Even if we doubt the estimate of 500 million firearms given by the UN, the incessant attacks by armed herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbers and militants of all hues in different parts of the country should tell us that we have too many illegal arms circulating in the country. This unfortunate situation should temper our scepticism.
We already know that Boko Haram is rated by the United Nations Terrorism Index as the most violent and most blood-thirsty terrorist organisation in the world today. Its war against Nigeria is aided by its unbridled access to arms and ammunition.
It is difficult to understand why Fulani herdsmen are able to move about freely across Nigeria with unregistered assault weapons without being arrested or questioned on their illegal possession of such weapons.  The scores of devastated villages and the thousands of persons killed with illegal weapons bear testimony to the failure of our security agencies to properly police the acquisition and use of firearms.
As the Americans have found, a single weapon in the wrong hands can endanger the security of so many people. The mass shootings in the US, in recent times, amply demonstrate this fact. Even before the insurgency and militancy in Nigeria, crimes have posed a severe threat to personal safety.
Many Nigerians live in fear of armed robbers, kidnappers, thugs, political militia and assassins.  It is a fact that desperate politicians procure arms which they hand over to thugs during electoral campaigns to harass and intimidate both their opponents and innocent voters.
The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, admitted in January last year that the proliferation of weapons complicates the conduct of elections because it encourages electoral violence.  It is important to get these illegal arms out of circulation.
We commend the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons for sensitising the public to this problem and seeking help for the weapons marking programme. This programme will involve the use of what has been described as “international tracing instrument” to mark all weapons in the military, the police and other security agencies. This will make it easy to trace weapons used by criminals.
The committee should quicken its plans for an update of our firearms laws. This will facilitate better law enforcement and the control of illegal weapons.  We urge all disgruntled Nigerians to seek the resolution of their grievances at the conference table.  The use of illegal firearms to resolve disputes is not in the best interest of anyone. We also appeal to the government to pursue a peaceful resolution of the people’s grievances to avert a resort to violence.
Above all, our security agencies should strictly enforce the laws guiding illegal possession of firearms. The government should also design a comprehensive disarmament programme to get illegal arms out of circulation in the country.