Military hardware: Manufacturer seeks dedicated funding

The Chairman/CEO of EPAIL Nigeria, Kola Balogun, has called for dedicated government funding and stronger regulatory frameworks to accelerate Nigeria’s indigenous defence manufacturing industry. Balogun said sustainable development of the industry required deliberate government intervention, structured research funding and effective regulation of local manufacturers.

He made the call in an interview with Newsman on the just-concluded Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) 2026. He said Nigeria needed a strong regulatory institution to establish standards, monitor research activities and ensure accountability in the utilisation of funds allocated to defence manufacturing. According to him, government funding should be directed towards clearly identified research priorities and solutions to the country’s peculiar security challenges.

“We should not merely make budgetary provisions for defence manufacturing without clearly identifying the projects, research priorities and expected outcomes. “Government funding must be purposeful, dedicated and properly monitored.” Balogun argued that competition among indigenous manufacturers should be driven by government-funded research and innovation rather than unhealthy commercial rivalry.

He said the government could identify specific security challenges and invite local manufacturers to develop competing technological solutions. “For instance, imagine a situation where we want to detect any object approaching our borders within a specified distance and automatically raise an alarm. “That should become a research challenge for indigenous defence manufacturers,” he said.

He explained that manufacturers could receive initial funding to develop different solutions, after which the government would assess the proposals and support the most promising innovations. The EPAIL boss also advocated the establishment of defence industry incubation centres to provide platforms for researchers, engineers and manufacturers to develop and test innovative ideas.

“Incubation centres are important because that is where research and innovation can take place. “They provide a clustered environment where individuals, researchers, engineers and companies can bring forward ideas, collaborate and conduct small-scale experiments,” he said. Balogun said the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and other relevant institutions should play leading roles in developing such innovation platforms.

He stressed that effective regulation was equally necessary to control the production, distribution and sale of sensitive military equipment. According to him, manufacturers must know their end-users to prevent sensitive equipment from falling into the wrong hands. “There must be proper knowledge of the end-users to ensure that such equipment does not fall into the wrong hands,” he said.

Balogun added that a properly regulated defence industry would create a pathway for indigenous manufacturers to grow, attract investment and contribute more meaningfully to national security. He said the successful development of Nigeria’s defence industry required sustained government commitment, strategic investment and an enabling environment for local innovation.