A war veteran, Lt. Col. Yakubu Anifowoshe (rtd), has described as alarming the rate of illegal importation of arms and ammunition into the country, warning that the menace, if not check by all possible means, posses a great threat to the nation’s security.
Anifowoshe, a former president of Retired Army, Navy and Air-Force Officers Association (RANAO), while giving the warning in Ibadan at the weekend, called on the government and relevant authorities to stop of the inflow of illegal arms and ammunition in order to avert dire consequences.
He expressed concern over the rate at which operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have been intercepting arms and ammunitions illegally imported to the country by yet to be identified individuals or corporate organizations and added that the current agitations across the country made the recent importation suspicious and called for thorough investigation.
While noting that most of the people causing trouble in the country have the opportunities to run away whenever the bubble bursts, the former RANAO President called on the leaders of the country to do all within their powers to nip all the emerging crises in the bud, saying “during the civil war and thereafter, many families were separated, many homes destroyed and many children lost their parents. I don’t think the country can survive another war, we may not see its end”.
Stressing that no force can keep the country together, other than right counsels, persuasion and roundtable discussions, Anifowoshe said, “it is necessary for people to sit together and discuss. We don’t have to be selfish. Let us sit round the table and chart a way forward. Nobody, who fought in the last civil war will like to see another war. Flexibility is one of the principles of war and it is hoped that President Muhammadu Buhari will keep to this.”
He added that people are agitating for restructuring because of marginalization and charged the leaders to engage in consultations, stressing that present situation calls for referendum. “I think now is the time to listen to the agitations and call for a referendum. We must feel the people’s pulse and abide by the outcome,” he stated.
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