Director-general of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mamman Ahmadu has advised the Nigerian Military to look inwards to develop homemade military hardware like other developed nations of the world that have developed strong military hardware, which he said has made them strong forces to be reckoned with among the nations of the world.
He made the remark during a courtesy visit by a Military delegation to his office. The visit was aimed at building collaboration between BPP and the military to ensure compliance with the requirements of the law in the military procurement activities.
The DG said building a military industrial complex in order to design and produce indigenous military hardware which will be founded on sound research and development (R&D) will reduce reliance on sourcing spares from other nations and thus abate the possibility of exposing the nation’s military flanks in times of emergency.
Ahmadu opined that military hardware purchased from other nations puts the country at a disadvantaged position that could compromise the country’s security due to the fact that the basic technology is resident in the country of procurement, who will be unwilling to easily avail other nations of such technology.
While appreciating the efforts of the Nigerian Military in ensuring strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act, 2007 in their quest for more enlightenment and understanding of the public procurement process, the BPP DG emphasised the significance of the military to any nation, stating that the whole world has benefitted tremendously from military research.
In his response, leader of the delegation, Maj. Gen. J.O. Oni stated that a lot of R&D is needed to go into the production of military hardware. He said a number of privately owned companies in Nigeria must be encouraged to be able to produce military equipment and emphasised that it is not what the military can handle alone.
Stating that Research and Development (R&D) is key to military development, he said the fact is that even if the government is willing to provide the fund for research to have a military industrial complex, his fear is whether Nigeria has the capacity to be able to undertake the responsibility.
