ABSTRACT
It would be reasonable on economic grounds to claim that developing countries have a vested interest in arms control and disarmament. A drastic cut in defense expenditure by the major powers would be one means of their diverting a large slice of their available resources to aid and development if they had the will to do so. In West Africa except during the Nigerian Civil War, many university teachers have tended to see arms as a luxury. From them and the students, came the opposition to the Anglo-Nigerian defence agreement at the end of 1960. Disarmament is clearly concerned with the reduction or abolition of armaments, while arms control relates to restrain factors such as characteristic and mode of deployment. Within the political and social structure of many countries, especially in Third World, armies often assume roles which are not strictly military in nature. All over the developing world, military interventions in politics have become a regular feature of life.
