Defence Minister Challenges Nigerian Tech Innovators to Drive Homegrown Security Solutions
Oru Leonard
The Honourable Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), has called on Nigerian innovators, researchers, and technology startups to channel their expertise toward developing indigenous solutions capable of addressing the country’s evolving security challenges.
Speaking at the Omniverse Africa 3.0 Summit in Lagos, the Defence Minister emphasized that modern national security demands more than conventional military hardware, stressing that innovation, technology, and industrial capacity are now critical components of national defence.
Delivering a keynote address titled “The 70/30 Rule: Why Nigeria’s Security and Innovation Agendas are the Same National Project,” General Musa urged Nigeria to move beyond being a consumer of foreign defence technologies and become a producer of homegrown security innovations.
According to him, the future of national security lies in combining military strength with technological advancement, strategic foresight, and local industrial capability. He noted that while the nation must address present security concerns, it must also invest in the technologies and systems that will safeguard future generations.
The Minister revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently reforming its operational doctrine, procurement processes, and training frameworks to prioritize emerging areas such as unmanned systems and robotics, cybersecurity, surveillance technologies, secure communications, artificial intelligence governance, data-driven decision-making tools, and advanced local manufacturing.
General Musa linked these efforts to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, highlighting ongoing reforms at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) aimed at creating a thriving defence-industrial ecosystem. He explained that the initiative is designed to stimulate economic growth, create high-tech jobs, strengthen university-based research, and open new commercial opportunities.
As part of efforts to deepen collaboration between the military and technology sectors, the Defence Minister also launched the Defence Futures Lab Pathway, a strategic platform convened by Kryterion to foster innovation and long-term capability development within the defence ecosystem.
He clarified that the initiative was not intended as a procurement exercise but as a forum for strategic engagement, innovation planning, and collaborative problem-solving.
Participants at the summit agreed to reconvene within three months to evaluate progress, review emerging technology concepts, and align future actions with the Federal Government’s indigenous defence development strategy.
The engagement underscores the government’s commitment to leveraging local innovation and technology as a key pillar in strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture and advancing national development.
