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 of 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 4000 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 conflicts zone 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 by having comprehensive data base who those who are Nigerians in order to improve security management in Nigeria adding that youth empowerment, reducing unemployment and poverty as well as entrenching affordable education will assist youth resilience against going into 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 is “exacerbated by governance deficits, including weak institutions, corruption and a lack of accountability.”
To ensure effective security management, therefore, the former Chief of Army Staff stated that “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 destabilize national security”.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of 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 is fragile states”
Adebowale pledged that the university would continue to support security management through security research conducted by researchers within the university to support security sector policy formulations.
The Acting Director of the TETFUND Centre of Excellence in Security Management, Dr Benjamin Aluko stated that the center 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” .
