Tinubu Asks African Leaders To Localise Defence Partnerships

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said defence partnerships among African countries must deliver lasting value long after equipment have been supplied for military interventions.

Tinubu stated this in his remarks at the opening of the Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) 2026 in Lagos.

Represented by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu said, “Every major acquisition should help develop skills, transfer knowledge, strengthen local industry and deepen our capacity to maintain what we operate.”

According to the President, the success of defence partnerships should be measured by the capabilities they leave behind.

“The measure of a successful partnership is the capability it leaves behind. African engineers must gain expertise; African enterprises must grow; African institutions must become stronger,” he said.

Tinubu added that the same commitment should guide support for African-led peace operations, stressing that military personnel deployed to maintain peace must be adequately equipped and supported.

“The courage to respond to crises must be matched by predictable resources, adequate equipment, rigorous training and sustained institutional support. Those we send to keep the peace must have the means to keep the peace,” he said.

He said AFRIDEX should serve as a platform where military experience informs innovation, industry strengthens national capabilities and partnerships deliver practical solutions.

“Our purpose is clear: to help build an Africa capable of defending its people and securing the peace upon which progress depends,” he said.

Tinubu noted that African countries shared the responsibility of protecting their citizens and safeguarding the continent’s future amid increasingly complex and interconnected security threats.

“From the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel, from our territorial borders to cyberspace and outer space, the threats confronting us are becoming more complex and interconnected,” he said.

He added that the threats endangered lives and livelihoods, disrupted trade and weakened the foundations of development.

“Africa’s security must therefore command our collective attention, because there can be no enduring prosperity where fear governs daily life,” he said.

Speaking further, Tinubu said Nigeria understood the consequences of insecurity, citing the loss of lives, displacement of communities, disruption of livelihoods and missed economic opportunities.

“Nigeria speaks from experience. We know the cost of insecurity: the lives lost, the communities displaced, the livelihoods interrupted and the opportunities denied,” he said.

He noted that the Nigerian Armed Forces had confronted terrorism, insurgency, banditry, piracy and other transnational threats with courage and sacrifice.

“We honour their service and remember those who have paid the supreme price. Their sacrifices place an obligation upon us to provide the leadership, equipment, training and support they need,” he said.

The President stressed that lasting security required strong institutions, public trust, reliable partnerships and the industrial capacity to sustain defence capabilities.

Tinubu also urged African countries to strengthen maritime cooperation, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, which he described as vital to regional trade, energy security and shared prosperity.

“We must strengthen maritime cooperation so that legitimate commerce can flourish and criminal networks find no sanctuary,” he said.

He further called on African countries to prepare for the changing nature of warfare, noting that cyber capabilities, space technologies, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems were transforming the global security environment.

“Africa must invest in the knowledge and institutions required to understand these technologies, use them responsibly and develop solutions of our own. Our young people have the talent; our responsibility is to create the opportunity,” he said.

Tinubu said AFRIDEX 2026 represented a renewed determination to transform Africa’s potential into practical defence capabilities.

“Let the partnerships formed here strengthen our readiness; let the knowledge exchanged here inspire our innovators; and let the commitments made here produce results our people can see,” he said.

He added that African countries owed their citizens nations where peace created opportunities, public service earned trust and the future could be approached with confidence.