Nigeria must end reliance on foreign weapons — DIAN scribe

The General Secretary of the Defence Industrial Association of Nigeria, Kola Balogun, has said Nigeria must deliberately end its reliance on imported defence equipment and invest in locally manufactured alternatives capable of meeting the country’s unique security needs.

Balogun, who also serves as Chairman/CEO of Equipment and Protective Applications International Limited, warned that Nigeria’s continued dependence on foreign defence systems, many of which were designed for entirely different operational environments, was undermining the effectiveness of its security forces and exposing troops to unnecessary risks.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Balogun, however, called on the government to procure equipment developed to meet the reality on the ground.

“No two wars are exactly the same, and no two security environments are identical. We must therefore develop solutions tailored to our peculiar realities rather than relying solely on imported systems designed for completely different operational environments,” Balogun said.

He cited a particularly alarming example of the consequences of foreign dependency, noting that Nigeria had witnessed situations where equipment designed for open desert warfare was deployed in dense forest terrains, with devastating consequences for operational effectiveness.

Balogun argued that local manufacturers already possessed the capacity to produce virtually every category of defence equipment required by Nigeria’s security agencies.

“This is why I strongly believe that a private sector-led defence industry should serve as the engine room for defence acquisition and capability development in Nigeria,” he said, adding that the government must create deliberate policies and incentives to enable indigenous manufacturers to thrive.

Balogun said a major step forward had already been taken with President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the amended DICON Act, which opened the door to meaningful private sector participation in defence production — a development he described as the result of years of advocacy.

“It took us several years of engagement and advocacy to push for amendments to the Act. Today, we are grateful that President Bola Tinubu has assented to the amended DICON Act, creating opportunities for meaningful private sector participation,” he said.

However, he stressed that legislation alone was not enough, calling on government institutions to back the Nigeria First policy with concrete procurement action.

“The Nigeria First policy is commendable, but it must go beyond policy declarations to actual implementation. We must ask ourselves: how often do government institutions procure locally manufactured products when such products are available in Nigeria?” he queried.

The DIAN scribe also tackled the deeply entrenched perception that foreign solutions were inherently superior to local ones, challenging Nigerians to trust in their own capacity.

“Do we truly believe that Nigerians can solve Nigerian problems?” he asked.

Balogun further linked the country’s insecurity crisis to weak governance at the grassroots level, arguing that the absence of visible government presence in many communities created fertile ground for criminality and insurgency.

“In many local government areas, citizens have little or no visible presence of government. Where government presence is weak, insecurity finds fertile ground,” he said, urging local governments to support community security initiatives through the procurement of locally produced protective equipment.

He expressed confidence that with the right policies and sustained support for indigenous manufacturers, Nigeria could build a self-reliant and globally competitive defence industry.

“If we truly believe in our own capacity, support indigenous manufacturers, and create the right policy environment, Nigeria can develop a self-reliant and globally competitive defence industry capable of meeting our national security needs,” Balogun said.

His call comes on the heels of the comments by the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), who on Saturday disclosed that the ongoing Iran-Israel and Russia-Ukraine conflicts were severely hampering the availability of arms and military equipment.