President
Muhammadu Buhari on Friday directed the Ministry of Defence to produce a
plan for the establishment of a military industrial complex for the
local production of weapons for the use of the nation’s armed forces.
According
to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity,
Garba Shehu, the President gave the directive at the graduation ceremony
of the National Defence College, Abuja.
He said
the location production of weapons was meant to end the current
over-dependence on other countries for military equipment and
logistics.
He said such a thing was not acceptable to his administration.
“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 to meet
national military hardware and logistics requirements,” the President
was quoted as saying.
Buhari was
said to have also 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
recognised 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.
Buhari added
that in the light of this realisation, his administration was convinced
that the best approach was to work within the framework of the Lake
Chad Basin Commission to mobilise a collective regional effort in the
fight against terrorism and insurgency.
He
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
organisation to manage and sustain operational performance; and we must
show confidence and winning mentality,” he added.
The
President assured the people 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.
Buhari
said 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.
Credit: Punch
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