Mixing guns and Nigerians is like throwing a bottle of perfume into a fire, an explosion is certain.
In this case, unlike the bottle of perfume, the resulting explosion would be very hard to control. The level of insecurity in the country has been on an upward trajectory over the last couple years and it almost seems like our security forces are fighting a losing battle.
On Monday evening, terrorists or bandits as the media likes to call them, attacked a passenger train in Kaduna, the second train attack since October 2021. There has been a rise in kidnappings all over the country as well. Earlier this year, the Premium Times reported that at least 486 people were killed in the first three weeks of 2022.
Needless to say, it’s been HOT all over the country. In the South, there’s been reports of unknown gunmen, the Military vs IPOB, Kidnappers and robberies. No matter how you look at it, no part of Nigeria seems safe right now.
Following the attacks in Kaduna, Shehu Sani, a former senator, took to his Twitter account to ask for the government to arm it’s citizens so they can defend themselves.
His exact tweet reads,
“If the Government and security agencies can’t crush these terrorists and bandits kidnapping and killing our people in Northern and Southern Kaduna, people should be officially allowed to carry same weapons and let’s see who owns the land.”
A member of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa also explained on the House floor that he felt it was time for Nigerians to be allowed to bear arms.
READ MORE: Police Defuse Bomb In Kaduna
Now this has led to a general conversation about letting Nigerians legally own weapons to defend themselves. This is an outrageously bad idea.
If there was any country where civilians owning guns should definitely not be allowed, Nigeria should top the list. We really aren’t the ones.
We’re a nation of over 200 million people and according to the World Bank, an estimated 95.1 million living in poverty. People wake up frustrated, suicidal, hungry, stressed out, and you want to hand guns to them? Gotham City would look like Disneyland compared to what the country would become.
Living in Lagos, you have watched two random motorists face up with their fists balled and abuses flying. Now imagine that scenario but with one or both of these people armed. Exactly
Nigeria as a state is rotten from the core with some of the most disturbed people walking God’s green earth. In 2019, the World Health Organization reported that one in four Nigerians were dealing with mental health problems. Add that to citizens struggling with substance abuse to that and you’re basically playing a game of chance with lives.
In 2021 alone, America recorded 44,965 deaths by Gun violence according to the Gun Violence Archive. Should Nigerians own guns legally, statistics like this would become the norm.
Keep the guns away from us.
