President Buhari has initiated moves for the
production of weapons in Nigeria. According to a
statement signed and released by Senior Special
Adviser to the president on media and publicity
Garba Shehu today August 7th, President Buhari
charged the Federal Ministry of Defence to produce
a plan for the establishment of a modest Military
Industrial Complex for the local production of
weapons to meet some of the requirements of the
country's armed forces. The statement after the
cut..
President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja
directed the Federal Ministry of Defence to
produce a plan for the establishment of a
modest Military Industrial Complex for the local
production of weapons to meet some of the
requirements of the country's armed forces.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the
National Defence College, President Buhari
described as unacceptable, Nigeria's current
over-dependence on other countries for critical
military equipment and logistics. "We must
evolve viable mechanisms for near-self-
sufficiency in military equipment and logistics
production complemented only by very
advanced foreign technologies. "The Ministry of
Defence is being tasked to draw up clear and
measurable outlines for development of a
modest Military Industrial Complex for Nigeria.
"In this regard, it is to liaise with other strategic
MDAs and industries to re-engineer the Defence
Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to
meet national military hardware and logistics
requirements," the President said. President
Buhari told the gathering that his administration
had, since its assumption of office, reviewed
the nature and character of Nigeria's security
threats and challenges. "We recognized first
and foremost, the external dimensions of these
threats and the need for international
cooperation and common security mechanisms
to tackle them," the President said.
President Buhari added that in the light of this
realization, his Administration was "convinced
that the best approach was to work within the
framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission
(LCBC) to mobilize a collective regional effort in
the fight against terrorism and insurgency.
The President urged the graduates and officers
and men of the Armed Forces to work harder to
win the war against Boko Haram, terrorism and
insurgency.
"We must apply a comprehensive strategy and
coordinate all elements of national power
against terrorism and insurgency; we must
show result oriented leadership at all levels of
military Command; we must set up an optimal
organization to manage and sustain operational
performance; and we must show confidence
and winning mentality," President Buhari told
them.
The President assured that the Federal
Government under his leadership will strive to
meet the operational, logistic, training and
welfare requirements of the Armed Forces of
Nigeria.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to
ameliorating the hardships of people living in
areas most affected by insurgency and
terrorism.
"We have the will, resolve and conviction to
apply a comprehensive strategy and coordinate
all elements of national power against terrorism
and insurgency," the President reassured
Nigerians and the international community.
President Buhari said that the National Defence
College had fulfilled the vision of its founding
fathers, by becoming a strategic human
capacity-building institution, making credible
contributions to Nigeria and other friendly
countries.
The President urged graduates of the College's
Course 23 to resolve to make "a marked
difference in your future deployments and
contribute your quota to the evolution and
implementation of national security, defence
and military strategies."
"You should be the source that lights up the
environment wherever you find yourselves," he
told them.
Garba Shehu
SSA to the President
(Media and Publicity)
August 7, 2015
