State of the Nation:

Why is there such an unprecedented proliferation of flashpoints in Nigeria at this time? It is clear that the State has lost the monopoly of violence which has always been the primary means of suppressing dissent

For a start, terrorists, criminally minded elements and other nob-state actors have been able to access arms from the anarchical continuum stretching from Sudan through the CAR, into Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Libya.

In the Gulf of Guinea, arms for oil barter trade by illegal Bunkering syndicates and regional emancipators alike contributed to the expansion of the cache of illegally held weapons within

Seeing that the overlordship of the FG has been successfully challenged by non-state actors and with perceptions of its monopoly of violence demystified, more groups with a plethora of motives have become emboldened.and risen to challenge the authority of the FG

In effect, IF Niger Delta militants and BH+ISWAP did not emerge to challenge the FG's monopoly of violence, we might never have come to this point. As it stands, the proliferation of armed groups looks set to continue unless effective political solutions are formulated

Summarily, the relative peace which Nigeria enjoyed in the 1970s on account of perceptions of an all-powerful State - an impression spawned by its victory in the civil war, cannot now be replicated cos that notion has conclusively been voided by the events of 2006-21.

It is time to aim for solutions which are able to prevent the recourse to arms by non-state actors for conflicts are sure to beget even more conflicts.