As terrorists continue to attack communities across Nigeria, many youths of communities are beginning to take the bull by the horns to defend themselves because they no longer have hope on the government.
While nobody can blame people for wanting to stay alive, this trend could create a bigger security problem for Nigeria in the future.
The more communities arm themselves, the more weapons will spread across the country. The government may eventually defeat the terrorists, but how will it recover thousands of weapons already in circulation?
Some of these weapons could end up with kidnappers, armed robbers, political thugs, cult groups, and other criminals. Community defense groups formed today could also become rival armed groups tomorrow.
History has shown that it is much easier to stop insecurity from growing than to disarm people after they have acquired weapons and learned to depend on them for protection.
If government does not decisively tackle terrorism now, Nigeria may eventually face two problems instead of one: terrorists on one hand and widespread arms proliferation on the other.
