THE NEXUS BETWEEN SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND PROLIFERATION OF SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS (SALWS) IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA
Saa-Aondo Moses Andza 1 & Iorhen Isaac Akuva 2
Department of Political Science at Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, 1 & 2
Corresponding Email: akuvaisaac@gmail.com 2
Abstract
The proliferation of SALWs has become a global epidemic that has resulted in about a billion SALWs in civilians’ possession across the world. In Africa, Nigeria ranks first as the country with SALWs in civilians’ possession. In Benue State, there are indications that SALWs are also greatly proliferating. Although scholars have explored the situation, the socioeconomic conditions of the people of the state as a causative factor of the phenomenon seem not to attract their attention. This paper therefore explores the socioeconomic conditions of the people of Benue State to establish their correlation with the proliferation of SALWs in the state. The explanatory research design was adopted, the data collected were analyzed qualitatively while frustration-aggression theory explored as the framework for explanation. The study found that the socioeconomic conditions of the people of Benue State are deplorable. The study also found that SALWs are greatly proliferating in the state, which accounted for the high rate of deaths due to violent crimes, the frequency of armed attacks, the kinetic approaches to insecurity in the state, and the regularity of seizures of SALWs by security agents in the state, among others. The study also found that the lack of genuine sources of income has led some people to engage in criminal activities, which have seen the demand for SALWs as tools of operation. The study concluded that the proliferation of SALWs in the state cannot be curtailed unless the socioeconomic conditions of the people of the state are addressed. The study recommended government to ensure sustained sources of livelihoods for the people of the state for them to better their socioeconomic conditions and to refrain from engaging in criminal activities that demand the use of SALWs.
Keywords: Benue State, Proliferation of SALWs, Socioeconomic Conditions
