ABUJA— Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Onyeabor Ihejirika, has decried the increased proliferation of small arms and light weapons within the country, describing it as “a big challenge to our national security.”

The Army boss, who was a guest lecturer at the Professor Nwabueze Constitutional Law Public Lecture series 2010 and African Achievement and Performance merit awards in Abuja, weekend, presented a paper entitled ‘Constitutional Democracy; the role of the Military’.

Ihejirika, who was represented by Major General Lawrence P. Ngubane, further reiterated the readiness of the Nigerian Army to synergise efforts with other security agencies in the country to ensure a smooth transition of government in 2011.

According to him, “the collapse of the Soviet Union heralded unprecedented democracy all around the world. Authoritarian rule has no moral base to continue to hold sway.

“It is on record that the military intervened in the politics of this country in 1966 but I make bold to say that the action negatively affected military professionalism in Nigeria.
“We are happy that democracy has been restored and the professionalism of our military enhanced.

“Section 217 (2) of the 1999 constitution assigned specific duties to the military among which includes protecting the country from external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity as well as help to suppress any form of insurrection whenever called upon to do so by the President.

“ We uphold the constitution and adhere to civil supremacy, therefore, the military must be carried along in government policies to help it to make informed decisions pertaining to national security.

The recent increase in the proliferation of small arm, light weapons and ammunition is a major challenge for the military as far as the issue of our national security is concerned, we are doing everything possible to partner with other security agencies in the country, to contain the problem” he stated.