- Odibo Victory
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has stated that every Nigerian should be allowed to bear arms.
Dalung made this known during Politics HQ, aired on News Central TV on Tuesday.
He argued that allowing Nigerians to carry arms would create room for accountability and referenced bandits as an example, claiming that peace exists among them because they are armed.
“Because if you look at the bandit, everybody is carrying arms and there is the greater peace there,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria needs to replicate the same situation if things are to change.
“So Nigeria needs to have the same situation replicated. Everyone needs to carry arms.
“The bandits who are carrying gun, have you ever seen any chaos there? It is the most peaceful situation we have so far,” he said.
Dalung further argued that an armed population would compel leaders to focus on governance and be more accountable to citizens.
“It will also help the leaders to sit up. They will not be buying air buses, renovating Presidential palace, buying yacht and leaving Nigerians to be hungry.
“Because they will know Nigerians have the capacity to hold them to account,” he said.
He also maintained that state police alone cannot address the country’s security challenges, stressing the need for community policing and armed individuals.
“So we need not only state police, we need even community police, we need individuals to bear arms,” he said.
Dalung expressed disappointment in what he described as the state’s failure to protect citizens, arguing that government has used its monopoly of power to protect those in authority rather than the people.
“The state has failed and it cannot be trusted with the monopoly of power.
“The monopoly of power is only for the protection of those in government and not the Nigerian people.
“Therefore, what is the essence of government? Where do we put section 14 of the constitution,” he said.