[BREAKING] Bem Garba: Nigeria Must Make Defence Sector a National Priority Like Oil and Gas

Security expert and Managing Director of DICON Gray Insignia, Bem Ibrahim Garba, has stressed the urgent need for Nigeria to elevate its defence sector to the same level of importance as the oil and gas industry.

“Our defence industry is as critical as our oil and gas industry,” Garba declared . He called for the establishment of a Nigerian defence fund to ensure local manufacturers and contractors are adequately financed, stating that current funding mechanisms are inadequate.

“Funding has not been addressed holistically,” he said. “We need to go further to create a Nigerian defence fund… so that is not in place at the moment.”

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Thursday, Bem Ibrahim Garba acknowledged existing challenges but credited the current administration with opening new opportunities for indigenous defence players.

“In the past, it’s been lip service, it’s been writing in the papers. But with the coming of this administration, we saw the new DICON Act… to bring about solutions that are practical and sustainable,” he said.

On the production of military equipment within Nigeria, Garba confirmed that local capabilities are expanding.

“Some of the things that we actually used to import are currently being done locally. And by the end of this year, we will even see more,” he stated, describing the progress as something “to be proud of as a country.”

However, Garba pointed out that foreign contractors continue to dominate projects that local companies are capable of handling.

“We have manufacturers who can produce armored personnel carriers, MRAPs… ballistic equipment for troops… ammunition locally… and drones,” he explained. He also emphasised the importance of building local training infrastructure to reduce dependence on foreign military education.

“We have the capacity to develop the training infrastructure that is required locally… to reduce the cost.”

Garba further criticised unequal competition, saying, “Many of the foreign contractors… have state backings from their individual countries. So they are able to come into our markets and operate with some backing that we don’t have.”

He underscored the broader implications of Nigeria’s defence industrialisation efforts, urging policymakers to act decisively

“Defence is very expensive… But with the policies that we’re seeing in place now, we are optimistic.”