The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, on Thursday, revealed that over 500 million illicit small arms and light weapons are in circulation in West Africa, with 40 per cent of illegal arms entering the sub-region ending up in Nigeria.
Musa stated this while delivering the Distinguished Personality Lecture organised by the TETFund Centre of Excellence in Security Management, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, held at Trenchard Hall of the institution.
Musa, who spoke on the lecture titled “Global Fragility and Security Management in Nigeria,” said, “Fragile states are no longer isolated issues. They pose a direct threat to regional and global peace, and Nigeria is not immune.”
Speaking on porous borders, Musa said, “Over 500 million illicit small arms and light weapons are in circulation in West Africa. Nigeria shares over 4,000 kilometres of land borders with its neighbours, most of which are inadequately secured. The porous borders have become major conduits for the inflows of arms from conflict zones in the Sahel and North Africa, with an estimated 40 per cent of illegal arms entering West Africa ending up in Nigeria.”
He also stressed the need for Nigeria to be deliberate in having a comprehensive database of Nigerians to improve security management in the country. He added that youth empowerment, reducing unemployment and poverty, as well as entrenching affordable education, will assist in building youth resilience against the temptation to engage in criminality.
The chairman of the occasion and a former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, represented by Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun, said the problems of insecurity facing Nigeria are “exacerbated by governance deficits, including weak institutions, corruption and a lack of accountability.”
The former Chief of Army Staff called for “a multifaceted approach encompassing governance reforms, security sector improvements and strategic interventions to address the root causes of conflict and promote sustainable peace as well as socioeconomic development initiatives. It is also important to strengthen our border security through innovative solutions and trained personnel to control the flow of illicit goods across and to prevent the proliferation of weapons, aiming to destabilise national security.”
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale, said: “Our world grapples with interconnected crises – climate-induced displacement, transnational terrorism, economic inequality and geopolitical tensions – that amplify vulnerabilities in fragile states.”
Adebowale pledged that the university would continue to support security management through security research conducted by researchers within the university, thereby enhancing security sector policy formulations.
The Acting Director of the TETFUND Centre of Excellence in Security Management, Dr Benjamin Aluko, stated that the centre would deploy all the weapons in “our intellectual arsenal to support you in achieving your mandate while trusting God to use you to strengthen our capacity to effectively deliver on the vision and mission of the centre.”
