Nigeria: Commit 20% of Military Spending to Local firms
When President Buhari approved $1 billion in April to fight Boko Haram, I wrote to the Senator representing my district, asking him to ask the Senate to add a clause that 20% of that money must be spent on sourcing the equipment LOCALLY in Nigeria. My calculation was that if Mr. President commits to spend $200 million of that money on local companies, we could see a new industry emerge. Boko Haram is evil but that evil could lead to a small defense manufacturing sector in Nigeria if we manage the spending better.
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved the purchase of military hardware worth $1billion for the use of the Nigerian Armed Forces in its war against Islamic insurgents, Boko Haram.
Sure, you may say that we cannot wait for these companies to be ready before we have arsenals to defend the nation. That is not so. Even the $1 billion will be fully spent and we would still need more money. So, the urgency to spend money will never go. The best we can do is to commit to spend 20% of all equipment sourcing locally. If we do that, some foreign supplies may be forced to open (light) production in Nigeria to key into that policy.
Boko Haram will be defeated – evil never wins. But it would be extremely unfortunate if we do not deepen our local defense sourcing capabilities as a result of it. From cameras to software, we have men and women that would rush home and work with indigenous partners to create and supply certain things the military needs if they commit to patronize local firms.
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If you have a Senator, find a way to pass a message that Nigeria can do great by committing to spend 20% of military sourcing via local firms [Mr. President is yet to receive the 2018 budget]. The small firms may not be perfect initially, but we would learn and advance with time.
A great idea, laced with foresight and patriotism. With the number of years spent in fighting boko haram terrorists and other insurgents, we ought to have built a decent local capabilities in some areas of the military equipments. But we are always in a hurry to spend money recklessly, coupled with that 'foreign is always better' syndrome.
If the Senate can achieve such, that would be great; the best way to start is simply by starting.
Maybe using the Senate's official Twitter handle could be more effective at this point, many of those senators are unreachable most times, except you visit the National Assembly Complex or you go their village.
Nice insights.