To bear or not to bear arms

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

The degree to which insecurity has completely changed what it means to live in the country is one of the most obvious indicators of how badly things are going. It has become all too typical for areas of unrest to break out across the nation, leaving those in their immediate proximity dead or severely unsettled, depending on the situation. Nowadays, thanks to technology, occurrences in one area of the country typically have an impact on other sections of the country within a matter of a few precious seconds.

Therefore, the chilling effects of farmers being killed in Zamfara for disobeying orders from bandits were felt in isolated settlements in Enugu, which were attacked because they complained against herdsmen letting their cows loose to stampede their farms. In Abia State, where herdsmen have been implicated in kidnappings, the impact of the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolchildren by bandits in Kaduna State have been felt. When terrorists destroyed towns and schools in Borno State, the scorching flames served as a constant reminder of the unrest engulfing Anambra State, where several buildings have been destroyed. Many Nigerians have had to consider what they may do to protect their lives and property while events have continued, especially when it appears that the situation has become especially overwhelming for security agencies in the country.

For decades in Nigeria, community vigilantes have demonstrated that when properly supported, it is not beyond them to rout those who steal into communities to cause chaos safe in the knowledge that they would have had a field day and be gone long before security personnel can mobilize.

These vigilantes have shown their viability and validity over the years.

With insecurity sweeping through the country, it has become fashionable for state governors to cause these vigilante groups to morph into something closely resembling state police or regional police as the case may be. In a country where the police and other security forces have long been federally controlled, this has unsurprisingly become a source of friction between the gatekeepers at the federal level and their counterparts in the states.

The southwest was the first to fly that kite with Amotekun in the region. The southeast soon followed suit with Ebubeagu. There have since been similar groups in some states of the country notably in Kano and Benue states. With the rise of such groups a natural question has arisen on whether or not they should be allowed to bear arms.

With the terrorists laying waste to communities across Nigeria always wielding sophisticated weapons and matching Nigeria‘s security personnel weapon for weapon, it yields to common sense that there can be no fruitful effort to confront the brand of insecurity rippling through Nigeria without measures taken to adequately arm those who would be tasked with confronting the menace.

Yet, the federal government has legitimate concerns over the proliferation of arms in the country. In a federalism that has been flawed at best, there are also legitimate concerns over the use to which some unscrupulous state governors will put some of the groups they are forming and arming in the name of fighting insecurity. The experiences so far recorded in Imo and Ebonyi states where Ebubeagu has been accused of multiple crimes offer a cautionary tale.

In this wise, current disagreement between the federal government and the Ondo State government over the plans of the later to arm Amotekun bears close attention.

While Governor Rotimi Akerodolu has insisted that the group will be backed by law and allowed to bear sophisticated weapons to combat the killers threatening to overrun his state, the federal government has warned that the group is not allowed to bear arms. Some groups have accused the federal government of allowing vigilante groups in some states to bear arms while preventing similar groups in other states from bearing arms.

It is evident that Nigeria’s federal form of government is still too ill to deal with the numerous problems that are plaguing the nation. The number of security lapses is growing nationwide, and the federal government, which oversees the organizations responsible for reducing national security, is losing confidence and power every day.

Armed regional organizations may soon be Nigeria’s only option for preserving security in its increasingly exposed regions.