CHAPTER ONE

1.0       Introduction

Security is the absence of danger or threat for a nation’s ability to protect and develop itself, promote it’s cherished values and legitimate interest as well as enhance the well-being of its people. Over the last decade, the links between the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons  (SALW), conflict, security and development have become better recognized and understood within the West African subregion. Hence, sustainable development in the region is seriously threatened by recurrent violent armed conflict. The proliferation of SALW has erased decades of development and progress. It has further entrenched poverty within West African States. The interdependence of small arms control, security and development speaks to the core development mandates of poverty eradication, enhanced human security, inclusion and governance. Communities affected by small arms violence have become socially and economically retarded to progress.[1]

This study analyses the impact of proliferation of SALW on security and development in Nigeria, using Ekiti state as a case study. This chapter contains the background of the study and is followed by the statement of research problem. It also explains the research methodology used, scope and limitation of the study, the purpose for the research work, terms and concepts used in the study.

1.1       Background to the Study

The concept of security and development are mutually dependent, especially in low and middle income countries. There is a relationship between the proliferation of SALW  and the security of any society. Although, some scholars like Hans J. Morgenthau delivered this terse dictum: Men do not fight because they have arms. They have arms because they deem it necessary to fight[2]. Michael Howard also suggested that weapons can be used for essentially four at large purposes: to deter an adversary from resorting to war, to defend oneself should deterrence fail, to wage aggressive warfare, or to engage in political intimidation. As such, weapons, the implements of conflict, are neutral instruments to be employed by the defender or the aggressor.[3] This means that they have legitimate and illegitimate use, which is referred to as the paradox of SALW[4]. This gives rise to a vicious cycle evident by the death toll from small arms which dwarfs that of all other weapons systems and in most years greatly exceeds the toll of the atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In terms of the carnage they cause, small arms, indeed, could well be described as “weapons of mass destruction”. Small arms proliferation is not merely a security issue; it is also an issue of human rights and of development. The proliferation of small arms sustains and exacerbates armed conflicts. It endangers peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.[5] Proliferation of weapons can be defined as their spread from one group of owners or users to another. This can be horizontal, which refers to the acquisition of weapons systems by states not previously possessing them, or vertical, which refers to increase in the arsenals of states already possessing particular weapons.[6] Proliferation of SALW, as a mode of arms spread or multiplication is facilitated by certain intermediaries in response to both legal and illegal demands.[7]It undermines respect for international humanitarian law. It threatens legitimate but weak governments and it benefits terrorists as well as the perpetrators of organized crimes.[8] Also, a huge number of SALW now exist in private and public hands and there are at least 875 million firearms in the world.[9] At the same time, there exist more than 1,200 companies in 90 countries that produce small arms in the global world[10]. SALW have been reported to claim between 500, 000 and 750,000 lives annually and are a contributory factor to armed conflict, organized crimes, displacement of people and terrorism. Consequently, this undermines peace, reconciliation, safety, security, stability and sustainable social and economic development.[11] To better define and understand proliferation of SALW from the government perspective. Hazan and Horner (2007) defined proliferation as the growth or numerous multiplications of illegal arms and weapons in the country[12]. These arms and weapons often end up in the hands of private citizens and armed groups, which fuels dysfunctional and violent conflicts.  As a result, fear and instability become predominant in the society. This threatens qualitative appreciation for individuals and the society at large. Just like every occurence, there are many reasons for the proliferation of SALW. These can be categorized into push and pull factors within and outside a society. Tackling one factor has not proved effective in curbing the proliferation of SALW, therefore it is important to tackle both factors simultaneously to achieve laudable result.

Nigeria is a federal republic consisting of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT).  The 36 states are grouped into six geopolitical zones that reflect ethnic identity, in most cases. The states are subdivided into 774 administrative units of unequal size called Local Government Areas (LGAs). In some states, especially in the far north, these LGAs are grouped into emirates, districts, or traditional council areas. The history of the people of Nigeria goes back to antiquity. Evidence of art Iron Age culture was found in relics left behind by the people that lived in the Niger-Benue valley. These historical artifacts are known to have been made by the Nok culture. The growth of the Nigerian nation-state, however, can be traced to 1914 when the British colonial administration merged the North and South protectorates and the colony of Lagos into one administrative unit. Nigeria became an independent nation in 1960 and since then, has had different administrative structures. Within the boundaries of Nigeria are found many social groups with distinct but similar cultural traits, which are reflected in the diverse behaviour of the people. There are about 374 identifiable ethnic groups in Nigeria. Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba are regarded as the major ethnic groups.

 Nigeria is one of Africa's most endowed economies, with an abundance of both natural and human resources. Its citizens are noted for their high degree of resourcefulness and entrepreneurial skills. Ironically, the country's per capita income of U.S.$350 in 1999 is one of the lowest in the world. Sectoral contributions to the gross domestic product may give a distorted picture of reality since more than 50 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture. The structure and growth of the economy is therefore not easy to categorise. The main feature of the economy has always been that a high proportion of the national income is derived from the export of a wide range of mineral and agricultural products, with crude oil currently taking the lead. Since 1980, crude oil production has accounted for more than two-thirds of the gross domestic product and more than 80 percent of total government revenue. There exists vast industrial and commercial concerns that are largely dominated by state enterprises. There are also large, multinational companies, as well as poorly organised small-scale enterprises. All these economic features have combined to create a diverse private sector. The lack of a broad economic base and political instability have recently led to a large-scale 'brain drain' of skilled manpower. Inflation and unemployment are relatively high[13].

Today, each geo-political zone region faces a peculiar security challenge, as will be discussed in details later on in this study. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons is often one of the major security challenges currently facing Nigeria, Africa and indeed the world in general. The trafficking and wide availability of these SALW fuel communal conflict, political instability and pose a threat, not only to security, but also to sustainable development. The widespread proliferation of small arms is contributing to alarming levels of armed crime, and militancy.[14]

The incidence of gun violence has soared across Nigeria in recent years. A day hardly passes without media reportage of gun-related injuries and killings by violent criminals. The significant perpetrators of gun violence include terrorists, insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and cultists. The state security agencies have not only been unable to address the rising wave of gun violence, but they have also been a significant contributor to extra-judicial murders. The steady diminution of public safety has led to the formation of vigilante groups and ethnic militias in different areas of the country such as the Amotekun in the South-West and Civilian Joint Task Force in the North-East.[15]

Ekiti state is located in the southwest geo-political zone of Nigeria. The state is known for education and agriculture in the country. Summarily, push and pull factors within and outside the state are predominantly responsible for the proliferation of SALW. Addressing both of the factors is a sustainable method of putting an end to the menace. This thesis is divided into six chapters: Chapter two reviews different literature written on SALW and explains the theoritcal framework, chapter three is an overview of proliferation of SALW in Nigeria, chapter four focuses on proliferation of SALW Ekiti State,  chapter five looks at the changes and continuity in proliferation of SALW in Ekiti state and chapter six makes recommendations and concludes the study.

1.2       Statement of Research Problem

A compulsory political organization with continuous operations will be called a 'state' [if and] insofar as its administrative staff successfully upholds a claim to the  monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force ( das   Monopollegitimen   physischenZwanges ) in the enforcement of its order[16]. This is one of the characteristics of a Normal or Stable state, and it guarantees security which drives developemt. Abnormal or Fragile States, experience an opposite situation where the use of force is not solely done by the government, creating instability which inhibits development. Security is a major human need; it is paramount so much that absence of it will render people ineffective in spheres of life. Abraham Maslow in his classical work on human needs ranked safety/security as second (next to physiological needs) in the hierarchy of human needs. Traditionally, security of lives and property is the exclusive preserve of the state but the dynamics of the world today has clearly revealed that security is the responsibility of all [17](Abolurin, 2012:14).

For the given reasons it becomes imperative that a Nation State controls the flow and proliferation of SALW thus maintaining monopoly of use of force and providing security and development for it's citizens. In furtherance to achieve this, at the global level, the international community has endeavoured to map out strategies geared towards addressing the phenomenon of SALW, which are implemented at the international, regional and national levels. They have also formulated specific guidelines and rules to help nation-States develop an effective national framework for addressing the phenomenon. Even where the instruments embodying these benchmarks lack legal force, there is nevertheless a strong moral obligation on States to respect them. The legal responsibility and due diligence obligations imposed by international human rights law in connection with SALW entails putting in place an effective regulatory framework for SALW as well as an effective enforcement mechanism following the international guidelines.[18] However at the National and state level not much assesment has been done and not much strategies has been put in place to curb the proliferation of SALW, thus creating a need for this study. The focus of this study which is Nigeria, a state that cannot be said to be stable, due to the use of force by several criminal minded individuals and non state actors. This has negatively impacted the quality of lives of the populace. The importance of reviewing this is that the security of the society and development are mutually dependent.  In order to achieve progress in development in a society it is imperative to identify stumbling blocks to development.  One of such is the proliferation of SALW which triggers insecurity. In recent times, SALWs proliferation has led to an increase in violent crimes that undermine human security, such as rape, cultism, herdsmen's killings, armed robbery and kidnapping, in most parts of the country. While prolonging the conflict, SALW also hinders the chances of resolving such conflicts; warring factions, as demonstrated in the Liberian Civil War and Sierra-Leone conflict, have been known to concede to peace negotiations only as a strategy to buy time to stock up arsenals in order to launch further attacks. This assertion was affirmed by Weiss (2003) when he stated that, “the mere presence of guns undermines alternative conflict resolution strategies”. The availability of small arms plays a role in perpetuating the violence and making it more lethal at every level, from criminal activity to full-fledged war, in both developed and developing countries (Weiss, 2003: 4)[19]. Also as noted in the forward to the Report of the Panel of Experts, “while not themselves causing the conflicts in which they are used, the proliferation of SALW affects the intensity and duration of violence and encourages militancy rather than a peaceful resolution of unsettled differences”.[20] There are currently several initiatives in the world towards controlling the trafficking and proliferation of small arms. There is the United Nations Program of Action on Small Arms (UNPOA). There are also some regional and sub-regional initiatives that have been undertaken under the auspices of the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Presidential committee on SALW (PRESCOM), National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) etc. All geared towards controlling the proliferation and limiting the impacts of SALW.  Though significant success has been achieved a lot still needs to be done as the proliferation of SALW continues, evident by choas stated earlier. To achieve further success a strategy used by Shushing can be adopted, he said “Any problem, multiplied by China's 1.3 billion people, is very large. But any problem divided by 1.3 billion people is very small. All you have to figure out, with any given problem, is whether you should multiply or divide. Get it right every time, and China is your oyster.”[21] This implies in this context that creating frameworks at community, state and lower of governments will divide the problem further thus will proof effective in curbing this menace. There has not been initiatives at the State and local government level to solve this problem, which suffer the impact of violent crimes and armed conflicts more. For example in Ekiti State, the recent events of gunmen suspected to be fulani herders attacking women in Irele-Ekiti[22],  attack by gunmen on Elewu of Ewu-Ekiti in Aiyetoro, Ido/Osi local council Ekiti state[23] and other violent crimes and conflict in Ekiti state perpetrated with the use of SALW proves the continous proliferation of this dangerous weapons at the state level (Ekiti state).

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of proliferation of SALW on security and development in Nigeria, using Ekiti State as a case study. This theses aims to explore the consequences, causes and sources of proliferation of SALW in Ekiti state and find a nexus between this menace, security and development. It also aims to investigate trends of SALW and predict future occurence in Ekiti state, lastly this study will identify gaps in existing framework in curbing this menace and proffer sustainable solutions thereby improving security and development in Ekiti state and Nigeria at large.

In recent years, the development of insecurity which is accompanied by the proliferation of SALW in the southwest geo-political zone of Nigeria has raised a concern for the establishment of a regional-local security body that could combat the menace. These security challenges include land disputes in rural areas, activities of cult groups, armed robbery, farmers-herders clashes among many. Despite the successive federal government efforts in the state to address the situation it continues to persist. This has no doubt impacted negatively innso many ways in the day to day life of the people. Unfortunately,  there is no (to my knowledge) any academic work which investigates the impact of the proliferation of SALW in Ekiti state. This has become a problem to the state security stakeholders to approach the situation with full required readiness. This work, therefore, attempts to fill this gap.

1.3       Research Methodology

This research adopts the use of qualitative data, which involves the use of interviews granted by security personnel, government officials, journalist, victims of armed crime and conflict, hospital staff, traditional rulers and keen observers. It also uses secondary data in form of published and documented information from police, hospitals, newspaper report and online materials and libraries. This study adopts thematic and analytical approach for interpretation of data. This approach gives a balanced unbiased perspective and understanding of the impact of proliferation of SALW on security and development in Ekiti state, Nigeria.

1.4       Scope and Limitation of Study

This research is a study of the impact of proliferation of SALW on security and development in Nigeria, using Ekiti state as a case study. The scope covers from 2010 to 2021 and focuses on Ekiti state because not much as been done to curb the menace at the state level in Nigeria, which suffers the negative impact more. As the saying goes no man is an island on his own, therefore given the bad security condition in some states in Nigeria it is imperative to check the impact of proliferation of SALW at the state level so as to avoid further spread.

The study is limited by secrecy of information surrounding SALW and government agencies. This limited availabilty of relevant information to this study. Due to limited financial resources not all LGAs in Ekiti state was visitied due to logistics. Also lack of previous research studies on the subject matter made it difficult to have scholarly insight into the subject matter.

1.5       Justification

The availability and misuse of small arms in this world has dramatic consequences. A single weapon, misused, can change the fate of an individual, a family, or even an entire community. A flood of small arms can shift the entire balance of power in a community, leading to a lack of personal security that destroys the rule of law. Small arms are used to facilitate an entire range of human rights abuses, including rape, enforced disappearance, torture, forced displacement and assist in the recruitment of child soldiers. An increase in expenditure due to deteriorating security conditions also results in decreased support for economic, social and cultural rights. No corner of the world has been left untouched by armed violence.[24] The most visible impact of small arms on human rights is the human carnage, including half a million people killed each year in war, homicides, accidents and suicides. Millions more are disabled or die from untreated injuries inflicted by small arms. The lives of those affected by small arms-related violence are often changed forever due to long-term disability and ongoing psychological trauma. In addition to the immediate impacts on life and health, small arms-related misuse affects the entire spectrum of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Small arms have become the tools of choice in facilitating the barbarous acts which, a half-century after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights pledged to eliminate them, continue to outrage the conscience of humankind.[25]

Though there has been various interventions by several organizations to curb the proliferation of SALW, mainly at the international, regional and national levels with some successes recorded, the proliferation of SALW is still going on, This is evident by the increase in violent conflicts in Nigeria. It is worthy to note that not much work has been done at the state and local government level which suffer more from the impact of this menace. Therefore it is  imperative to try to curb the menace at the state and local government level. Hence, the need for this study,  which seeks to assess the impact of proliferation of SALW at the state level (Ekiti state) and proffer solutions in addition to already existing frameworks setup to curb the menace.

Several unseen factors in the society affect the society either positively or negatively. Sometimes in negative ways, the impact is not felt at the initial stage till it becomes exacerbated or pronounced which might be difficult to tackle at such times. Proliferation of SALW is one of such phenomenon and it affects the security and development of the people of Ekiti state. Thus it has become important to study the impact of proliferation of SALW in Ekiti State, it's trend, factors contributing and ways of limiting it within the state. Moreover the menace is a challenge in Nigeria which undermines national security and development. The knowledge of these findings can be used to make recommendations to curb the menace creating sustainable peace and progress.

1.6       Conceptual Clarification

For easy understanding of the findings of this work, some concepts used need to clarified. These include

1.6.1    Impact

The state of effect, influence or consequence of an event, situation or process on something person or people.

1.6.2    Arms Proliferation

Arms proliferation in this study means illicit manufacture, transfer and circulation of arms,

either within or without a state. Hazan and Horner (2007) also defined proliferation as the growth or numerous multiplications of illegal arms and weapons in the country[26].

1.6.3    Small Arms

These are Arms designed for personal use and which include: Fire arms and other destructive Arms or devices such as an exploding bomb, an incendiary bomb or a gas bomb, a grenade, a rocket launcher, a missile, a missile system or a mine. 1) Revolvers and pistols with automatic loading; 2) rifles and carbines; 3) machine guns; 4) assault rifles; 5) light machine guns.[27]

1.6.4    Light Weapons

The following portable Arms designed to be used by several people working together in a team: 1) Heavy Machine Guns

2) Portable Grenade Launchers, Mobile or Mounted

3) Portable Anti-Aircraft Cannons

4) Portable Antitank Cannons, Non-Recoil guns

5) Portable Anti-Tank Missile Launchers or Rocket Launchers

6) Portable Anti-Aircraft Missile Launchers, Mortars with a caliber of less than millimeters: projectiles and missiles for Small Arms;

7) Mobile containers with missiles or projectiles for anti-aircraft or anti-tank simple action systems[28]

1.6.5    Security

Security has to do with freedom from danger or threat of a nation’s ability to protect and develop

itself, promote it’s cherish values and legitimate interest and enhance the well-being of its people

(lmobighe, 1990: 224).

Security has to do with the process connected with alleviation, assaulting any kind of threat to man and his cherished values. It is such an important concept that every State, organization and human person desire. This is why Buzan asserts that "security is about freedom from threat and abiliy of state and societyto maintain independent identity and their functional integrity against forces of change, which they see as hostile,while the button line is survival."

1.6.6    Development

The process of advancementof man, the unfolding and realisation of his creative potentials, enabling him to improve his material conditions of living through the use of resources available to him. It is the process by which man's personality is enhanced, created, organized, and disciplined.  Which is the moving force behind the socioeconomic transformation of any society.