Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin(l), Chief of Defence Stff
DAILY TRUST
26 JULY 2012
EDITORIAL
President Goodluck Jonathan recently commissioned a ballistic vest factory complex at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in Kaduna for the production and sale of military ancillary products including bullet-proof vests and night vision goggle equipments.
The President, at the occasion, re-stated his administration’s commitment to “creating the requisite enabling environment for local manufacturingindustries to grow, become major
employers of labour and progressively become globally competitive”.
Established in 1964, DICON produces arms and ammunitions for Nigerian military and the nation’s other security agencies. It operates an Ordinance Factory in Kaduna where it manufactures small
arms and ammunitions including assault rifles (similar to AK-47), machine guns and sub machine guns.
Its Special Vehicle Plant undertakes the refurbishing and upgrading of Scorpion light tanks and Setyr tracked Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs). The company has also developed 60mm and 81mm mortars.
DICON remains the only legal small arms and light weapons manufacturer in Nigeria. The Act of Parliament establishing DICON requires it to use its excess capacity to support the development of local industries.
However, the Nigerian public perception of the company today, several years after it came into existence, is that DICON has not sufficiently met the
expectations of its founders.
President Jonathan, in his speech at the occasion,
lamented that DICON has been limited by its inability to expand its production, hoping that the recent commissioning of the vests factory would provide basis for that expansion. On January 24 this year, DICON and MARON Nigeria Limited signed an agreement to establish the factory.
The joint venture agreement is in furtherance
of the Federal Government’s policy of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the defence industry. MAROM-DOLPHIN is an Israeli company that specializes in military and security textile products.
MARON says it is the main authorized supplier of tactical and bullet-proof vests to the Israeli military and ministry of defence.
The DICON-MAROM partnership, according to Mr President, signifies that DICON has keyed in to government’s local content policy which aims at building indigenous capacity for the development
of our national economy.
It is nonetheless a laudable stride that DICON is now able to engage in the local production of bullet proof vests and textile wears for the Nigerian armed forces and other security agencies in the country. It is an improvement in the area of local capacity production. The local manufacture of these materials and equipments will save the country a lot of cost especially in the given circumstances of insecurity in the past few years where huge budgetary allocations are expended to purchase tools to tackle such challenges that threaten the very essence of our corporate existence.
The sale by DICON of locally manufactured armoured fabrics and vehicles to neighbouring
countries that are in need could make the venture a sustainable source of revenue for the country. As a sovereign nation, the local production of our military wares gives us a strategic advantage as such would keep our enemies in the dark
about the stockpile of the country’s armament.
Importing all that the country needs for her territorial integrity exposes her to open threats, leaving the country at the mercy of countries from where weapons and allied equipment were
imported.
While it is commendable that DICON produces light weapons, it is not good enough to stop at that because similar companies in other countries like Brazil that started almost at the same time with
Nigeria have evidently gone far.
DICON needs to and can do more specially by
venturing into the manufacture of heavy military hardware including aircraft fighters. Brazil which started at the same time with Nigeria, for instance, today produces jet fighters.
DICON is also encouraged to consider the possibility of producing electronic security gadgets for intelligence, forensic and surveillance
purposes. This may include CCTV cameras, bomb detectors, etc.
In order to sustain the company, the government could compel federal agencies to patronize DICON unless the products they require are not produced
locally. It could go further to ban the importation of all materials produced by DICON.
While the DICON-MARON may be a commendable PPP initiative, it is important that the industry should, for strategic reasons, be more involved in
partnership with local companies in order to enhance its capability and ensure the diversification of its products range for
local needs.
This is a first coming from a newspaper doing a full editorial on the state of Dicon I WOULD GO A STEP futher for DICON to be taken seriously they must MANUFACTURE THE FIRST TANK.
Well thought out editorial. To add to the reporters analysis the federal government has given a presidential order to all security agencies to purchase all security equipment from DICON, except in cases where the needed equipment cannot be gotten from dicon.
DICON will definitely work, given the will power by the FG!
Nothing stopping DICON to advancing inovation on military technology to the highest level in the production of latest jet fighter, anti missile defences, anti bomb and drug detectors, military tank so that other africa countries would be supplied and the rest part of the world also benefit. Nigerian should cherish made nigeria goods and services and 100% support the present administration for its commitment to local made military hardware inovation and technological advancement in the country.Nigeria should and must take leadership position in africa.