Nigeria working to produce weapons to contain insecurity, says minister

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation have disclosed that its agencies are working hard to ensure the Nigerian military becomes self-reliant in the production of hardware to contain insecurity.

The minister, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, stated this, yesterday, at a mini trade fair for the official visit of the Organisation For Military Sports In Africa (OSMA) to the ministry.

He said in the near future, the military in Nigeria would not have to rely on foreign countries for hardware to contain the insecurity that has been ravaging the country.

He said: “Within the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, we have 17 agencies. Virtually, all our agencies are interested in making sure that we help our nation to grow in self-reliance. All countries from all continents that have developed, all came to Africa to look for raw materials. The question is why can’t Africans use the same raw materials, natural resources that other people come to take from us to develop our countries?”

The minister asked: “Is there any reason why our countries should continue to import finished products from other parts of the world? There is no reason. For us to achieve this, we must pay more attention to science, technology, and innovation. If we do so, we would be in a position to use that knowledge to convert the enormous and abundant natural resources God put in Africa which other countries from other continents have been exploiting.”

He added: “How do we do this? We have to encourage our young people, boys, and girls, to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. That is what all countries that developed did. It was the same for the Japanese, the same for people from Singapore, from South Korea. This is the formula and we must grab it with our two hands.”