Nigerians And Arms Proliferation

The celebration of Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary as one indivisible nation has came and gone but it appears from goings on in the nation today  that our leaders are yet to internalize any lesson from their past actions which have kept the country nearly stagnant.

On achieving flag independence on October 1 , 1960 our founding fathers swore to uphold a united Nigeria, devoid of the calamities arising from the differences in our tribes and tongues in order to forge a strong and united nation. They did their best in that direction. But recent events still portray us as ardent tribalists with a penchant for actions that would divide rather than unite us. This is why at fifty we dissipate energy on frivolities and exhibit much distrust among ourselves, even among the academia, religious circles, in politics and among traditional leaders and students groups.

It is this emphasis on the issues that divide us that drives massive corruption, election rigging, zoning of political offices, quota system, the son-of-the-soil syndrome and other retrogressive tendencies now bedeviling the country and which have not helped to improve the circumstances of the common man in any way in the past 50 years of independence.

The level of greed exhibited by some political office holders as portrayed by the amount of ill-gotton wealth they amass is responsible for the lack of potable water for the masses, poor school system, epileptic power supply and ineffective medical delivery system to name just these. But instead of taking a retrospective look at our outing in the past 50 years in order to decipher what went wrong, unpatriotic citizens are busy hatching strange strategies on how to remain in power or to wrest power from their opponents come 2011.

Just during last August the Oyo State was literally up in flames following the disagreement within the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, over control of the money-spinning union there. During the ensing fracas, many innocent Nigerians lost their lives not through machete cuts but from shots which were fired from automatic weapons from both sides of the divide. At a point the Oyo State Police Command impounded two vehicles allegedly loaded with dangerous weapons and conveying suspected members of one of the waring factions. Clearly, this fracas was being formented by individuals who hope to score political points by the use of either of the factions to effect their selfish ambitions in 2011. The mastery so far displayed by Nigerians in the use of lethal weapons is worrisome as we have learnt from the Jos mayhem, religious crisis in parts of the north and from the Niger Delta crisis. This is why the recent revelation over the seizure of 13 containers laden with lethal weapons at the Apapa Wharf should bother every well meaning Nigerian interested in the unity, peace and progress of the country at a time the Police is working hard toward mopping up illegal fire arms in every wrong hand.

Speaking last Friday at his campaign fund raising dinner, in Abuja President Goodluck Jonathan made the point when he oberved that the 2011 elections were not about his candidature alone but the future of the country. The President used the opportunity to call on Nigerians to eschew parochial tendencies so as to engender a solid foundation for the progress and development of the country. This is the attitudinal pattern expected of all Nigerians particularly those in leadership positions which duty, most unfortunately, some leaders have thrown to the winds in pursuit of personal and, or sectional goals to the detriment of project Nigeria. But things should not be allowed to continue this way.

This is why this recent interception of arms at Apapa Wharf  calls for incisive investigation to answer all the relevant questions surrounding the lethal cargo  in order to assuage public fear over the possibility that some such consignment may have successfully slipped through the ports and other border posts to their destination within Nigeria, which could be rightly said to be sitting on a key of gunpowder in view of the manner arms and ammunition are being allegedly acquired by sections of the country.

This position is corroborated by the assertion of the President’s campaign organization to the effect that the security agencies had by the seizure saved Nigeria from mortal danger and that the evil minds behind the importation of the arms have sinister motives. Therefore, security agencies should leave nothing to chance in their effort to unmask those behind the act and bring them to book because Nigerians strongly believe that the confussion over the origin and destination of the arms are a mere smoke screen.  The views of the President, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Peter Esele concerning the development, is instructive. Peter Esele called for detailed investigation to determine who is behind the importation while government should be vigilant over the activities of private jetty owners. He also urged that results of the investigation be made public and not swept under the carpet like the case of the Ukranian plane which landed in Kano last year with arms.

“Though we are very pleased with this discovery, which we believe was more of a fortunate discovery than one based on any clearly defined procedure or expertise by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), which we all know are not patriotic in carrying out their lawful duties but prefers to be settled financially. The men of the customs have done more harm to the economy than the paltry sum of money they declare as revenue to the national coffers yearly.

“We demand that the federal Government should carry out a holistic reappraisal of the duties and responsibilities of all agencies currently, operating at all sea ports and border towns”, Esele suggested.

In addition there is need for synergy among the security agencies to ensure adequate security in the country.

Also commenting on the proliferation of illegal arms in the country, some clerics in Lagos called for proper investigation into the matter in order to fish out and adequately punish the culprits. According to the clergymen proliferation of arms would threaten the 2011 general election, if unchecked. This being the case, the duty on the shoulder of the National Taskforce on lllegal Importation of Goods and Light Weapons is an onerous one. But to achieve success at it, the taskforce must reach out to other security outfits to achieve the desired results.