(Onitsha Nigeria, August 8, 2016)-The leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties
& the Rule of Law (Intersociety) is shocked and alarmed over a recent
claim by Nigerian-born Director of
the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC),
Ms Olatokunbo Ige to the effect that out of 500 million illicit Small
Arms & Light Weapons in circulation in West Africa, 350 million of them or
about 70% are in circulation and in wrong hands in Nigeria. The Nigerian-born UN official made the bogus claims
at the ongoing National Consultation on Physical Security and Stockpile
Management (PSSM) in Abuja, organised by the Agency and Presidential Committee
on Smalls Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM).
In other words, the Nigerian-born
UN official is saying that 350million Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) are
in circulation in Nigeria. This is not only alarmingly false, but also
demographically and statistically untenable, incorrect, unscientific; guess
work, contentious, unverifiable and socially disastrous.
We are deeply worried because the
name of United Nations is involved, which explains our promptness in disputing
and dismissing the bogus and highly inflated figure. It is no longer news that
the Nigerian Intellectual Community has decayed steadily in recent times
following gross bastardization witnessed in the country’s cultural and
political values, courtesy of Nigeria’s political class.
The dicey situation under
reference is compounded by the emergence of the Nigeria’s erstwhile chief
propagandist opposition political party (All Progressives Congress) and its toutocrats, as the ruling political
party in Nigeria; leading to the
entrenchment of culture of denial, falsehood and propaganda as the core
foundation of its presidency. Under
the current APC-led Federal Government of Nigeria, if figures are not bandied
and alarmingly inflated, they are mangled with utter alacrity as case may be.
It is therefore, most likely that
Ms Olatokumbo Ige of the UN Regional Centre for Peace & Disarmament in
Africa (UNREC) is a major victim of this intellectual decadence or corruption,
which is running riot on present Nigeria; under the presidential midwifery of
the Buhari administration; which is why the Nigerian-born UN official has the
audacity to misinform and mislead hundreds of millions of people and
institutions around the world using UN as a cover.
The bogus claim of the UN
official is totally dead on arrival and may most likely be difficult to provide
grounded answers to the following questions, which are: (a) if 350 million illicit small
arms and light weapons are in circulation and in wrong hands in Nigeria, what
is the total population of Nigeria presently? (b) Does it mean that with
credibly estimated population of 174million people in Nigeria, illicit small
arms and light weapons to the tune of 350 million are two times higher the
country’s population of 174million people? (c) Does it also mean that out of
every child born recently in the country; every teenager, youth and adult
including male and female and even President Muhammadu Buhari; there are two
illicit small arms and light weapons in possession of each of them?
(d) If 500 million illicit small arms and
light weapons are in circulation in West Africa, of which Nigeria accounts for
350 million or 70%; what then is the total population of the West African
sub-region? (e) If 500 million illicit small arms and light weapons are in
circulation and in wrong hands in West Africa alone, what then is the total number
of illicit small arms and light weapons in circulation around the world?
We challenge Ms Olatokumbo Ige to
rubbish us publicly by providing empirical and statistically grounded answers
to the foregoing. It is also correct to say that the Nigerian-born UN official
is an acute victim of arm-chair syndrome and a product of networking-cabalism that
characterizes sensitive inter-governmental and governmental appointments in
recent times locally and regionally; producing unqualified, illiterately
educated and dormant and dull brains to run strategic UN bodies such as the UN
Regional Centre for Peace & Disarmament in Africa (UNREC).
In view of the foregoing, therefore,
Ms Olatokumbo Ige must as a matter of uttermost immediacy and local, regional
and international importance, retract her grossly misleading and misinforming
statistics and tender an unreserved apology to all Nigerians, the UN and the
entire global community. We
also advise her to upgrade herself at all times both academically and
informally; likewise members of the Presidential Committee on Small Arms &
Light Weapons (PRESCOM).
Opportunities abound for her in
Nigeria to upgrade herself; one of which is exploiting the potentials of the departments
of Criminology, Security Studies and Peace & Conflict Resolution at the
National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). The UN, on its part, must also be
mindful of those it appoints to head its strategic and sensitive agencies or
bodies. Such appointees must also be routinely upgraded through periodic in-service
academic and non-academic trainings and professional exchange programs.
On the other hand, though the
claim of the Nigerian-born UN official is bogus and condemnable, but the
addition of the UN voice in the ongoing national debate on how to tame the
scourge of illicit Small Arms & Light Weapons (SALWs) in Nigeria, is a
welcome development as well as commendable. Statistically and credibly
speaking, through the illicit use of SALWs, over six million people have been
killed around the world since the end of the cold war in 1991 and through
illicit use of same; an estimated 500,000 civilians are killed every year in
the world and 80% of victims of illicit small arms and light weapons are
non-combatants, dominated by women and children.
Further, there are a total of
600million-700million licit and illicit small arms and light weapons in circulation
around the world produced by about, if not over 1000 companies; most of which
originate from five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with USA,
Russia and China topping the list. Others are UK, Germany, France, Italy,
Brazil, North Korea, Japan as well as leading members of the defunct Eastern
Europe and Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (former USSR). These weapons are
traded licitly through inter-State channels and illicitly by profiteers
of violence through war zones and regional or international organized
arms trade syndicates.
Till date, the battered Republic
of Afghanistan is the world most illicitly armed country with estimated 10million
illicit SALWs in circulation; on average of one illicit SALW for every four
Afghans out of its 2016 estimated population of 33million people. On the other
hand, Republic of Egypt remains till date the world largest possessor of anti
personnel landmines, estimated at 6million with many of them laid as far back
as 1948, during Israeli-Arab War.
About 10million illicit SALWs are
in West Africa with Nigeria accounting for almost 50% or 4.5million, on average
of one illicit SALW for 45 citizens( Sources: Departments of Peace &
Conflict Studies and Criminology & Security Studies of NOUN: 2015: i.e. Arms
Control & Demilitarization (PCR873): 2013; Public Security & Safety
Advocacy Department of Intersociety: 2016).
Illicit Small Arms & Light
Weapons; which are empirically or technically defined as weapons that can be
carried by a single person, either for military or civilian use; relatively
cheap, available in abundance, highly portable, long lasting and easy to carry
or operate; are also responsible for 64 active internal conflicts presently
raging across the world involving 597 armed opposition militias and asymmetric groups
against their host political territories; out of which about 30 are raging in
Africa involving 167 armed opposition militias and asymmetric groups, with the
Democratic Republic of Congo accounting for 36 armed opposition groups alone(
Source: warsinthewar.org 2015).
SALWs range from pistols, assault
rifles, machine guns, grenades, mortars to anti tank systems. Light
weapons, on the other hand, are referred to as weapons that are
man-portable or transportable by light vehicles, which do not require much in
terms of service and logistical back-up training. Some of them are small caliber canons, light
support weapons, combat grenades, anti-personnel mines, mortars, anti-tank
weapons, anti-tank mines, etc.
In the battered Republic of
Syria, for instance, availability, affordability and use of SALWs have killed
over 260,000 people, mostly non-combatants or civilians, in just five years
(2011-2016) of its internal conflict. While women and children are the worst
hit, the SALWs-driven conflict has also displaced half of the population with
7.6million IDPs and 3.88million refugees as at 2014. While the number of world
refugees has slightly decreased from 24million in the last five years to
21.3million in 2016, there have been spiral increases in the number of
internally displaced persons or IDPs and Stateless Persons or SPs, with the
UNHCR credibly estimating the current global IDPs at 65.3million persons and
Stateless Persons at 10million persons.
In Nigeria, over 2.6million
people including over 1.3million Christians have been displaced owing to Boko
Haram insurgency using illicit small arms and light weapons. Since the
inception of the Buhari administration, it has deadly and dangerously pursued a
policy of militarism and militarization, leading to intensification of direct
violence, structural violence and cultural violence on the polity,
targeted at innocent citizens of the country, leading to the death in the past
one year of at least 1300 unarmed and innocent civilians including women and
children. The Buhari administration’s militant and confrontational policy under
reference has also forced restive non-State actors to opt for counter-violence
and reprisal radicalization in defense of their ethnic identities, religions
and resource-values.
For clarity and record, militarization
is a chronic habit or process undertaken by a militant political
territory to increase influence of the military on all levels of the society. Militarism,
on its part, is a set of attitudes or social practices, which regard
war and preparation for it as a normal or desirable activity. It is also an act
of seeking violent solution to social conflicts or problems. These have
remained the negative cornerstone of the Buhari administration till date.
We hereby submit conclusively and
correctly that the number one architect of proliferation and escalation of
illicit small arms and light weapons in Nigeria is the Government of Gen
Muhammadu Buhari and a meaningful solution to the scourge can only be found
through demilitarization of the Buhari administration’s policy of militarism
and militarization.
Signed:
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law
(Intersociety)
Emeka Umeagbalasi(Criminologist & Graduate of Security Studies)
Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org
Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., (LLB, BL)
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
Mobile Line: +2348034186332
Email: igboeliobianuju@gmail.com
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