The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria’s (DICON) 60th anniversary ceremonies were held on August 9-15, 2024. With the theme ‘Future Frontiers in Africa’s Defence Technology’, the activities included the African Defence Industries Conference, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) for the establishment of ammunition production factory and Exhibition/Virtual tour of DICON and launch of its new strategy and brand identity.
But at the events, it was more a celebration of hope for the future than any past glory as DICON, established by an Act of Parliament on August 1, 1964, failed to fulfil the mandate of manufacturing arms, ammunition and any other weapon systems required by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
DICON’s Kaduna Ordnance factories built in 1964 by its Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria’s (DICON) West German technical partner Fritz Werner had production capacities for 5,000 units of BM 59 Rifles per annum, 18,000 units of SMG 12 per annum, 12,000,000 rounds of 7.62mm x 51 per annum and 4,000,000 rounds of 9mm x 19 per annum. Production tripled with the Nigerian Civil War (1967 -1970), thus making significant contributions to the war effort.
After the war, its production lines went silent. Bereft of federal government patronage, DICON used its equipment to produce and sell civilian items like rural water supply equipment, industrial spare parts and furniture.
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Meanwhile, contemporary arms manufacturing corporations established by Brazil and Malaysia blossomed. Brazil’s Embraer S.A., established on 1 April, 1964, is today involved in various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets or spacecraft. In fact, Nigeria’s A-29 Super Tucano fighter jet was manufactured by Embraer in conjunction with the US’s Sierra Nevada Corporation.
Malaysia’s SME Ordnance Sdn. Bhd. Company (SMEO), originally a joint venture established in 1969, became a government-owned company in 1974 and today meets even the country’s aerospace and defence-related needs.
Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Muhammad Matawalle, blamed past governments for DICON’s failure to achieve any major milestone in the production of military hardware, vowing that it would, in the next three years, export military capabilities through local manufacturing and the establishment of a Military Industrial Complex (MIC) network that would produce imperative weapons and military technologies.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, attempts have been made to resuscitate DICON, including the institution of policy enablement. This garnered steam when in February 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Defence Research and Development Bureau to initiate new scientific, technological and environmental research on defence matters.
In November 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the new Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Act, 2023 which also established the Defence Industry Technology, Research and Development Institute (DITRDI) to “create a scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry through the leveraging of combined, multi-disciplinary research from multiple military research institutes for application that leads to commercialisation and the development of new military technology and capacity in the country.”
Prior to this, towards empowering DICON to jumpstart the production of arms and ammunition, in September 2023, Nigeria approved a $1 billion partnership agreement with India to help it in attaining 40% self-sufficiency in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment within three years.
Earlier in 2018, DICON secured agreement with Poland’s PGZ to manufacture Beryl assault rifles locally. Its Special Vehicle Plant started the refurbishment and upgrade of armoured vehicles, and manufactured locally developed Ezugwu Mine-resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles for the army.
DICON’s Director-General, Major General Aniedi Edet, said 7.62mm rounds were currently being manufactured, and weapons are being assembled for the army. It has also started manufacturing the BAT A-1 Specialised Assault Rifle and delving into robotics and artificial intelligence innovations through the proposed state-of-the-art micro motherboard processing facility courtesy of the newly inaugurated lithium development plant in Nasarawa State.
But these are just projections. For DICON needs to do much more and urgently too if it is to start and catch up with its contemporaries.
We at Daily Trust believe that DICON must take advantage of numerous opportunities and improvements in research and begin the task of local manufacture of military equipment ranging from small arms to advanced defence systems.
Towards this, agencies must be made to patronise products of DICON. We welcome the measure by the Ministry of Defence such that any Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) must get approval from it before the importation of any military hardware into Nigeria to ensure that only those not locally manufactured are imported. This will enable investors in the sector to reap the benefits of their investments.
There are no more excuses for DICON as it now has the required law for its transformation as it leads the mordernisation of our military. If it runs its activities well, it would largely be self-funding, grow local and international military businesses, save cost and provide jobs.
It is time for DICON to wake from its slumber and emerge as a regional and global player. The aborted dreams of its founding fathers 60 years ago must be made to become a reality. It should not linger any more.
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