From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
With the signing of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Act by President Bola Tinubu, the Director General of the Corporation, Major General Aniodi Effiong Edet, on Wednesday harped on the need to capitalise on homemade military capabilities to address the lingering insecurity in the Country.
DICON was established in August 1964 with the mandate to produce military hardware to meet the defence needs of the armed forces and other security agencies.
According to the DG, foreign sources for some of the required military hardware are not just hyper-expensive considering the current exchange rate realities, they also take longer time to arrive in the country due to international politics and other forces around the purchase, shipment, and delivery.
Addressing the participants at the opening of a two-day management staff seminar themed ‘Repositioning DICON for effective productivity and quality service delivery” holding at a hotel in Kaduna, the senior military officer remarked that the corporation is expected to have been self-sufficient by providing and sustaining all defence requirement not only for the members of the armed forces but also for other security agencies.
“There is still a lot we can do as a corporation to meet this target. That is why since I resumed office last year, the management and I have been committed to achieving the mandate of DICON.
“The reality of today is that our country is faced with a number of security challenges and these challenges demand swift military capabilities.
“Most of the military capabilities that we give to armed forces ought to come from DICON rather than buying them from outside the country.
“Apart from the high cost of foreign exchange, it takes a long time for these military capabilities to come. It is therefore imperative to step up the production in the country to meet up in this regard”, he submitted.
He however solicited the intervention of the ministry of defence on the concerns to achieve the DICON mandate by leveraging the foundation already laid.
“We look forward to showcasing the strides that have been made and projection that lies ahead. Our commitment to excellence, professionalism, and synergy is already yielding good results because production in our factory has already commenced”, he added.
Speaking along that line, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major General Valentine Okoro, corroborated that military capabilities remain the game changer in the ongoing fight against terrorism and banditry in the country.
“The game changer in the current fight against criminals in the country is military capabilities. These capabilities which come from outside the country take long before they arrive here due to international politics and other forces,” he said.