General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), former Head of State has expressed displeasure over the alarming proliferation of calibre weapons in estimated at over six million.
He also blamed the worrisome situation for the surge in number of victims of insecurity put at about 80,000 deaths and equally alarming displacement of 3million internally.
Abubakar, also the chairman of the National Peace Commitee (NPC),who spoke at a dialogue session of the committee in Abuja,said the trouble facing the country
has assumed a dangerous dimension.
These challenges,according to him, include, the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, increasing poverty, the calls for 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.
He 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 6 million of such weapons in circulation in the country. This certainly exacerbated the insecurity that led to over 80,000 deaths and close to 3 million internally displaced persons”.
He lamented that the nation’s security agencies are not have not been over stretched but under funded, adding that in the circumstance, the 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, bit 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.
In his remarks, Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence King Sa’ad Abubakar 111,emphasized the need for value creation with a view to moving Nigeria forward.
“As individuals we need to add value into ourselves , we should know that we did not create ourselves, God created us and when God was creating us he did not ask us where do you want me to bring you into the world. We just found ourselves in some various places”.
