Nigeria, Feb. 26 -- The mass circulation of small arms and light weapons among the civilian population has placed Nigeria on the path to self-destruction. When the Minister of Defence challenged Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits wielding sophisticated weapons, he was telling us the truth we know, that there is no state to defend us, and we are on our own; as such, let's do what we can. Of course, what he said does not make sense, coming from someone with the responsibility to defend us. The reason we have the state and give it the monopoly of the legitimate use of violence is to provide for our collective security, as if we all have our arms we will turn against each other in a direct march to anarchy. That is why we, citizens,...