Time to end arms proliferation in Africa

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu’s call on the African Union ( AU) and the United Nations ( UN) to stop the proliferation of arms and light weapons in Africa is crucial to restoring and maintaining peace on the continent that is currently in the throes of all manner of violence and conflict.

The entreaty should be echoed at every relevant forum by other African leaders to rescue the continent from the grip of terrorists and insurgents, who are undermining peace and retarding the progress of countries in the global south.

It is sad that while other continents are making giant strides in innovation, governance and projects to boost the quality of life of their people, and for the benefit of all mankind, Africa is teetering on the edge of the abyss of destruction by conflicts as well as terrorists, jihadists, kidnappers and myriad of other evilminded elements that have either armed themselves or have been armed by other people with light weapons that are hidden in almost every nook and cranny of the continent.

African countries, as theatres of conflicts, terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping for ransom and other high criminal activities that present them as unsafe for living by investors from the global north, may never make remarkable progress to liberate their people from the overdependence on foreign countries and to effectively compete with them at the global scene. Technological advancement, industrialisation and other strides that are crucial in making Africa to develop can only succeed in an atmosphere of peace, which is currently elusive in most parts of the continent.

At the opening of a summit in Abuja recently on African Regional Dialogue of the Future titled, “The Africa we want and the UN we need,” Tinubu, against the backdrop of the rising threat of terrorism, insurgency and military intrusion into governance across Africa, particularly in West Africa, urged the participants to find innovative and cost- effective strategies by which the African Union would collaborate with the United Nations and the international community to stem the tide of the flow of arms and light weapons into Africa. He also stressed the need to check the retrogressive return of the military in governance in some of the countries.

The proliferation of arms and weapons is majorly responsible for escalating the violence and conflicts that have caused massive destruction of lives and property and undermined the progress of some African nations. For about two decades now, Nigeria has expended a huge amount of money on counter- terrorism fight by the security agencies. Resources that ought to be deployed to build the economy on many fronts, provide employment for the jobless citizens, build infrastructure that will attract foreign investors into the country and provide other social services are being wasted on crusades to tame terrorists and kidnappers who are waxing strong in practically all parts of the country, killing, maiming their fellow citizens and holding many to ransom for no justifiable reason. People are being killed in hundreds. Millions of farmers have been displaced from their farms and places of abode, traders cannot move their products to places or points of sale, as terrorists are taking control of some areas and imposing levies on the residents. Investors are scared to come to the country as these criminal activities persist. In Burkina Faso, at least 170 people were killed in one fell swoop in the northern part of the country on February 25, 2024. A regional prosecutor, Aly Benjamin Coulibaly, said in a statement that the attackers targeted four villages in Yatenga province before ‘ executing around 170 people’. Burkina Faso is battling an Islamist militant insurgency in its north and east. Armed groups - some affiliated with Al Qaeda and ISIS - regularly launch attacks on civilian and military installations. It was learnt that the violence has claimed almost 20,000 lives and displaced more than two million people in the country, and that about half of Burkina Faso is currently outside government control as armed groups have ravaged the West African nation. The Sahel country’s military junta has reportedly achieved some success against the armed groups but has not been able to defeat them or reduce the danger they pose to civilian populations.

In Mali, Islamist armed groups have killed and abused numerous civilians in central and northern parts of the country since April 2023. Violence has intensified across the small country following the May 2021 coup. The Mali War is an ongoing conflict that started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of the country. The number of internally displaced people increased from 2021, bringing the total to over 422,000.

Niger Republic is confronting a myriad of security challenges: in the west, as it faces the Sahelian insurgency driven by IS Sahel and the al- Qaeda- affiliated JNIM. In the south eastern Diffa region, the neighbouring country is battling the ISWAP and Boko Haram insurgency.

So long as all manner of crises perpetrated with arms and light weapons persist in many countries in Africa, the resultant distractions caused in governance will prevent them from making significant progress and making the prospect of underdevelopment and dependency on the global north perpetual.

Beyond the call for joint action against arms and light weapons, African leaders should stop acquiring them to arm people, particularly the youth, for political, ethnic and other self- interests because it has always been difficult to disarm them after the mission has either been accomplished or failed. Politicians who buy arms and give to their supporters to rig elections and intimidate or assassinate opponents should know that they are laying a foundation for the destruction of their country.

Also, there is a need for governments in Africa to sincerely address situations that are capable of prompting people to acquire and keep weapons, making citizens prone to joining terrorist and insurgent groups, and predisposing people to taking sides in a conflict rather than toeing the line of peaceful resolution. The hardship in some of the affected countries should be ended or mitigated. Justice must be done and be seen to have been done in all contentious issues. Countries should consciously work to prevent whatever makes terrorism thrive. For instance, every ungoverned space is a veritable operational enclave for terrorists. Governments should make their authority and presence visible in all parts of their territories so as not to leave space to be hijacked as a hideout for criminals.

African leaders should govern well and respect the rule of law and the constitution of their countries to make democracy work and flourish for the benefit of all. They must walk their talk, exhibit the good character that is required by the offices they occupy, and display a practical commitment to allowing peace to reign for their country to develop.