The Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons recently drew attention to Nige­ria’s new and unenviable status as the choice destination of small arms in Africa. That 90 million weapons are swirling around West Africa should cause everyone in this region sleep­less nights. These instruments are used for nothing else but crimes and the destruction of lives and property.
The flow of millions of arms into Ni­geria is not unexpected, but it must be checked. Unlicensed weapons enter­ing the country are bound to get into the wrong hands; and, any weapon in the wrong hand is likely going to be used to kill, maim, or commit other se­rious crimes.
The sources of these weapons are not hard to find. The destabilisation of Libya following political turmoil in that country let loose millions of such weapons. The activities of jihadists in Mali and the civil war environment it created are another source. The Al Qa­eda in the Maghreb constitutes a de­structive network incubating terrorists and nurturing agents of destruction. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which shares the nihilistic aspi­rations of Nigeria’s Boko Haram terror­ist group, is yet another likely source. The Al Shabaab, the Somalia-based jihadist group, has kept East Africa in turmoil for years and is thought to have a working relationship with Boko Ha­ram.
The monitoring of the resources and transfers among the jihadist organisa­tions is a task requiring specialised knowledge, intelligence gathering and technology. The United States, France, the United Kingdom and others have expressed their willingness to help Nigeria in the fight against terrorism. There is no better way to do this than to deny the terrorists the weapons of terror. The Federal Government must therefore use the good offices of its friends and allies to identify and in­terdict arms shipments and transfers among the terrorist groups.
The Trans-Saharan trade route has served this region for centuries for good and for ill and, as long as de­mand exists for small arms, supply will always find its way. Thus, the reports that these arms come into Nigeria through all kinds of carriers are of little surprise. Camels, donkeys and cattle are said to be widely used and border agents must be reminded not to take anything for granted.
If the northern borders have been problematic, the southern ones have been even more so. This is considered a key route covering the Lagos-Benin axis that stretches to as far as Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The Federal Government must double its efforts because a single gun pre­vented from entering the country could mean many lives saved. The world has for long found that the most practicable way to suppress terrorism is to deprive it of its oxygen, which is weapons. We are not discounting the practical diffi­culties of trying to frustrate desperate terrorists who often stop at nothing to bribe, steal and kill to acquire weap­ons, but there is really no alternative to denying them these, since we all know what the weapons are used for.
The nation’s borders have been diffi­cult to police even in the best of times. Now, they have reportedly multiplied as smugglers create new routes and try to beat every impediment placed on their routes. No effort should be spared to prevent weapons from coming into the country.
We must not forget that this is also the political season when politicians strive to overawe voters and intimidate their opponents. They wish to demon­strate their ability to wreak havoc and violence in a society where demonstra­tion of violence is sometimes consid­ered a sign of strength. Thus, this is the bonanza season for hired thugs, bouncers and private militias. These merchants of violence are usually ille­gally armed. The committee on small arms and light weapons should set up a special task force to monitor the activities of politicians and use all le­gitimate means to obtain intelligence about their use of arms.
This is the time to develop a closer relationship for joint interdiction of arms with Nigeria’s neighbours – Be­nin, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. It is also the season to call on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to re-dedicate itself to the security of the country by preventing the inflow of arms into the country. When it comes to small arms and other weapons, no sacrifice should be too great to prevent their entry into Nigeria.

Checking proliferation of small arms