Abdulsalami Raises Alarm over 6m Weapons in Circulation in Nigeria

Says 80,000 have died due to insecurity

Former Nigeria’s Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd),
has expressed concern over the proliferation of all calibre of
weapons in the country which he estimated at six million.

He lamented that the proliferation of weapons has heightened
insecurity in the country and led to over 80,000 deaths and close
to three million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Abubakar, who is also the Chairman of the National Peace
Committee (NPC), painted the grim picture of affairs in the country
at a dialogue session of the committee with key stakeholders at the
Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said the challenges facing the country is not only a security
issue in the narrow sense of the military definition but that it
has assumed an all encompassing nature.

He listed the challenges to include the Boko Haram insurgency,
banditry, kidnapping, increasing poverty, the calls for the
balkanization of the country from different quarters, the threat of
hunger arising from insecurity that farmers have faced and continue
to face, the increasing sense of collective despair and despondency
among the populace.

Abdulsalami said: “The proliferation of all calibre of weapons
not only in our sub-region in general and in Nigeria in particular
is worrying. It is estimated that there are over six million of
such weapons in circulation in the country. This certainly
exacerbated the insecurity that led to over 80,000 deaths and close
to three million internally displaced persons.”
The former Head of State also gave an assessment of the security
situation, saying that the security forces are not just
overstretched but under strength and funded.

He said the security agencies can perform better with more
sophisticated weapons, equipment and more funding.

“We believe Nigeria must find a way out of these problems. Our
hope is that perhaps among us, by listening to your different
perspectives, we can begin to build up confidence among our people
so that we can hold together. So our hope is that we shall not only
share our collective lamentations about the current situation, but
propose some concrete suggestions that can point the way forward,
suggestions that can inspire more confidence among our people and
ensure that our country remains one,” he said.

While welcoming the stakeholders, which included traditional
rulers, the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian
Governors Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Plateau State Governor and
Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Simon Lalong; religious
leaders, military, police and other security agencies, Abubakar
said that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of the meeting and
that he supported it.

He said the expectation is that the meeting will find out what
are the causes of the conflict and how to mitigate them.

Says 80,000 have died due to insecurity

Former Nigeria’s Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd),
has expressed concern over the proliferation of all calibre of
weapons in the country which he estimated at six million.

He lamented that the proliferation of weapons has heightened
insecurity in the country and led to over 80,000 deaths and close
to three million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Abubakar, who is also the Chairman of the National Peace
Committee (NPC), painted the grim picture of affairs in the country
at a dialogue session of the committee with key stakeholders at the
Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said the challenges facing the country is not only a security
issue in the narrow sense of the military definition but that it
has assumed an all encompassing nature.

He listed the challenges to include the Boko Haram insurgency,
banditry, kidnapping, increasing poverty, the calls for the
balkanization of the country from different quarters, the threat of
hunger arising from insecurity that farmers have faced and continue
to face, the increasing sense of collective despair and despondency
among the populace.

Abdulsalami said: “The proliferation of all calibre of weapons
not only in our sub-region in general and in Nigeria in particular
is worrying. It is estimated that there are over six million of
such weapons in circulation in the country. This certainly
exacerbated the insecurity that led to over 80,000 deaths and close
to three million internally displaced persons.”
The former Head of State also gave an assessment of the security
situation, saying that the security forces are not just
overstretched but under strength and funded.

He said the security agencies can perform better with more
sophisticated weapons, equipment and more funding.

“We believe Nigeria must find a way out of these problems. Our
hope is that perhaps among us, by listening to your different
perspectives, we can begin to build up confidence among our people
so that we can hold together. So our hope is that we shall not only
share our collective lamentations about the current situation, but
propose some concrete suggestions that can point the way forward,
suggestions that can inspire more confidence among our people and
ensure that our country remains one,” he said.

While welcoming the stakeholders, which included traditional
rulers, the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian
Governors Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Plateau State Governor and
Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Simon Lalong; religious
leaders, military, police and other security agencies, Abubakar
said that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of the meeting and
that he supported it.

He said the expectation is that the meeting will find out what
are the causes of the conflict and how to mitigate them.