FG spent $10bn to stop use of small arms, weapons in West Africa in 20 years

Nigeria has challenged the international community to decisively confront the problem of illicit small and light weapons, saying the Nigerian Government had spent more than $10billion in the last two decades to stem the tide of recurrent conflicts caused by the circulation of such weapons in West Africa.Empowered Newswire reported on Tuesday, that Nigeria expressed the view at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly debate at the first committee which deals with disarmament and international security while calling for a treaty on the issue and financial support to countries like Nigeria which had already committed huge financial resources to the problem.'We expect nothing less of a treaty which provides the legal basis for international trade in conventional weapons,' Mr Lawrence Olufemi Obisakin, a senior director from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, who spoke for Nigeria, declared.Nigeria also urged UN member states 'to urgently redouble efforts to articulate the role of these weapons regarding security needs of states, peoples and organisations.'Speaking on Tuesday in New York, Mr Obisakin told Empowered Newswire after he spoke at the ongoing committee debates that Nigeria had always been one of the foremost and respected voices on the issue of international security in the UN, especially with regards to small arms and light weapons.During Nigeria's presentation at the committee, the Federal Government said it was 'deeply concerned about the magnitude of human casualty and unbearable suffering, especially among children, women and the aged,' as a result of the illicit trade, proliferation, use and misuse of small arms and light weapons in Africa.The concern also extends to their negative impact on sub-Saharan Africa's efforts to maintain peace and security, and facilitate development.
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