By Oluwasore Alabi
Nigeria wants to stop being only a buyer of weapons and start being a seller. Defence Minister General Christopher Musa (rtd) said on Tuesday that the country will begin large-scale local production of defence hardware next year, for use at home and for export, particularly to other African countries.
Musa made the announcement in Lagos at the opening of the inaugural Africa International Defence Exhibition, known as AFRIDEX. He urged participants to use the event to invest in Nigeria’s defence sector, and framed the exhibition as a chance for investors and partners to take a stake in the country’s plans.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence’s Chief Information Officer, Dr Queenet Iheoma-Hart, the minister said the side events lined up during the exhibition would strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations among defence establishments, government representatives, industry players and other strategic partners.
The Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Muhammad Matawalle, described AFRIDEX as a dynamic platform capable of achieving the aims for which it was set up. Goodwill messages came from the Lagos State Governor, represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, and from Mr Birame Diop of the ECOWAS Commission. Both expressed hope that the gathering would give African countries an inclusive platform to expand and revitalise their defence sectors.
The manufacturing push rests on the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON. Its Director-General, Major General B.I. Alaya, thanked President Bola Tinubu for his continued support for the corporation and promised to raise its production capacity.
After the opening ceremony, Musa toured exhibition stands featuring displays from various countries. He then held an executive meeting with the United States Africa Command, AFRICOM.
The opening drew a wide cross-section of the security establishment. The Chief of Defence Staff, serving and former service chiefs, and the chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Defence were present, as were representatives from more than 20 African countries.
The statement did not say which products would be made, where production would take place, or how much has been budgeted for the effort, so the timeline stands as a promise and not yet a plan. It also did not mention which African countries might buy Nigerian-made equipment.
For a country that has fought insurgents, bandits and separatist gunmen for years, the idea of making its own munitions carries obvious appeal. Whether the factories can be ready by next year, and whether the products can meet the standards foreign buyers expect, will be the test of the minister’s promise.
