By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu<\/p>\n
President Muhammad Buhari in his gun control efforts reportedly signed
\na law to revoke all firearm or shotgun certificates or licenses in
\nNigeria with executive powers recently.<\/p>\n
The said law is proposed to take effect from June, and the implication
\nof the law is that nobody in the country is now allowed to own or carry
\nfirearms in the country, except only authorised officers of the Nigeria
\nPolice Force and the Nigerian Army, as well as select authorized
\nagencies.<\/p>\n
The law also prohibits officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil
\nDefense Corps [NSCDC], as well relevant security organisations to carry
\narms,and requires all arms owners are forthwith required to hand in back
\nall types of firearm licenses or certificates issued to them in the past
\nto the nearest police headquarter in one\u2019s state of residence.<\/p>\n
As usual, the law received huge knocks and have been painted in a
\ncombined colourations that portray ethnicity, religious undertones which
\nmay allegedly contravene the true spirit behind the law. The Igbo apex
\nsociocultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in its usual manner has fired a
\nsalvo condemning the order labelling it “a sign that ominous cloud was
\ngathering in the country”.<\/p>\n
The group captures it thus:\u201cThis is ominous. The storm is gathering
\nand will soon bare its fangs. The uninitiated continue to wallow in
\nself-deceit until the vultures scavenge for the carcasses. The signs are
\nclear. Why wait for doomsday?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gun control measures are not entirely out of place. They are initiated
\nby countries from time to time to check illegal flow or circulation of
\nguns and to strengthen the security fabrics of a country. But here the
\napproach is counter- productive and ill- timed, and therefore has
\ngenerated widespread suspicions. The questions that beg for urgent
\nresolution are:” how many gun users in Nigeria operate with licences? If
\nsmall number of gun users operate with licences, then how are small arms
\nand light weapons proliferate in that unprecedented dimension in the
\ncountry?<\/p>\n
This emphasises the need to mop up these sources of small arms and
\nlight weapons. The fundamental truth is that our borders are very porous
\nand smuggling these weapons becomes easy. Part of government’s efforts
\nthat would be considered serious is to strengthen our borders to stall
\nthe smuggling of these weapons. President Muhammadu Buhari also recently
\nrealised the level of porosity of our borders when he directed security
\nchiefs to ensure that they address the gaps that facilitate the inflow
\nof illegal firearms into the country, as well as the porous borders.One
\nof the international expert opinions is that “stemming the steady flow
\nof conventional arms into vulnerable regions required proper export
\ncontrols and improvements in the implementation of existing
\ninstruments”.<\/p>\n
Second\u00a0 is that there are locations in Nigeria that are gifted with
\nfoundry artistry. This is where the locally- made weapons emanate.
\nAnother effort would gear towards shutting down these illegal gun
\nmanufacturing outlets. Put the other way, what saner climes do would be
\nto tap from the ingenuity of these artisans by gathering them together
\nand deploying their ingenuity to good use.<\/p>\n
What is happening in Nigeria currently has an international input both
\nin funding and supply of arms. The question is how prepared are we to
\nensure that the international sources of these groups are plugged so
\nthat their strength could be sapped? We know of recent that some sister
\nAfrican countries were and currently engaged in one internal strife or
\nthe other, when eventually these strife are abated, the arms used for
\nthat purpose must find their ways into other locations. Collaborative
\nefforts demand that our borders be strengthened to ensure these weapons
\ndon’t find their ways into our country. Since we have failed in our
\nresponsibility of securing our borders, we have no other option than to
\npay the price.<\/p>\n
Also,\u00a0 as early as 2002\/2003, there has been huge outcry against the
\nproliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria,even by
\ninternational bodies. This was largely blamed on selfish bids of our
\npoliticians to win the 2003 elections at all cost, thereby arming
\npolitical thugs.One of the international concerns raised decried the
\nsituation thus:”The proliferation of small arms and light weapons in
\nNigeria in the West African sub- region exerts negative impact on
\nsocio-political and economic development. … Despite the existence of
\nthis NATCOM, small arms and light weapons are freely circulating in the
\ncountry”.<\/p>\n
Our problem is hydra-headed,\u00a0 internally it is alleged that even arms
\nleak to wrong hands through the efforts of our security agencies. It is
\nunfortunate, our messy situation is deeply owed to our inability to nip
\nugly situations on the bud. We always fight when we are neck deep.<\/p>\n
By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu President Muhammad Buhari in his gun control efforts reportedly signed a law to revoke all firearm or shotgun certificates or licenses in Nigeria with executive powers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n