By Lengnan Tobias
The Federal Government has called for a shift from a buyer-seller relationship with Türkiye to joint production, technology transfer, and local manufacturing as Nigeria pushes to build a self-reliant defence industrial base.
The Minister of Defence, retired Gen. Christopher Musa, made the call on Wednesday, at the opening of the seventh Nigeria–Türkiye Defence Industry Business Forum in Abuja.
Welcoming Turkish delegates, Musa said the forum reflected the depth of longstanding friendship between both countries and their shared determination to strengthen defence and security cooperation.
”Nigeria attaches great importance to its defence relationship with Türkiye. Our cooperation has evolved from military-to-military engagements to broader collaboration in equipment acquisition, training, technical assistance, and increasingly, technology transfer,’ he said.
Musa said the objective of the forum was to translate bilateral cooperation into practical industrial partnerships and sustainable investments.
”We must progressively move beyond a predominantly buyer–seller relationship towards a more balanced partnership founded on joint production, local manufacturing, R&D, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and skills development,” he added.
The minister noted that the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Act 2023 provided the legal framework to advance this ambition and create opportunities for private-sector participation and strategic investment.
”Our ambition goes beyond meeting immediate defence needs. We seek to position Nigeria as a competitive defence manufacturing hub in Africa — one that creates jobs, develops skilled professionals, and strengthens domestic supply chains,” he also said.
Citing Türkiye’s transformation into a self-reliant defence power, he said Nigeria views the Turkish industry not merely as a source of equipment, but as a strategic partner in her defence industrialisation journey.
”Nigeria is open to strategic partnerships in joint ventures, co-production, technology licensing, local manufacturing, and defence supply-chain integration.
”The ultimate measure of success should be the extent to which Nigerian personnel and industries acquire the knowledge to sustain and develop that capability,” he further said.
He urged participants to move ”from dialogue to delivery” and measure the forum’s success by partnerships established, investments committed, and technologies transferred.
Also speaking, Vice President of SSB Türkiye and Head of the Turkish Defence Delegation, Mr Gokman Ucar, said the Business Forum could start a new chapter of relationship between the two countries.
He added that discussions would focus on joint production, technology transfer, localisation, and Nigeria’s regulatory and investment framework, followed by back to back (B2B) meetings.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, said the DICON Act 2023, provided the framework for local production, but stressed the need to translate policy into actual industrial capability.
”I encourage both sides to explore practical models for joint production, technology licensing, co-development and localisation,” Matawalle said.
In the same vein, the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms Aisha Rimi, represented by Head of Incentives Administration, Uchenna Okonkwo, said that the commission saw considerable opportunity in the partnership.
‘According to her, the NIPC stands ready to facilitate investments, strengthen investor-government linkages, and support technology-driven partnerships.
Rimi noted that while Sections 17 and 18 of the NIPC Act restricted arms production, Section 22 allowed the commission to negotiate special incentives for strategic investments that supported industrial development and technology transfer.
She called for strong coordination among the Ministry of Defence, DICON, the Armed Forces, NIPC, and Turkish partners to ensure investments created jobs, develop skills, and position Nigeria as a competitive defence-industrial hub in Africa.
Edited by Deborah Coker
