General News
Tinubu: Defence Partnerships Must Build Local Capacity, Strengthen Security
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that defence partnerships among African countries must deliver the expected outcomes and provide lasting value beyond the supply of equipment for intervention purposes.
President Tinubu stated this in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) 2026 in Lagos.
Represented by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu said every major defence acquisition should contribute to skills development, knowledge transfer, the strengthening of local industries and improved capacity to maintain military equipment.
“Every major acquisition should help develop skills, transfer knowledge, strengthen local industry and deepen our capacity to maintain what we operate,” he said.
According to Tinubu, the success of a defence partnership should be measured by the capabilities it leaves behind.
He said African engineers must acquire expertise, African enterprises must grow, and African institutions must become stronger.
He added that the same commitment should guide support for African-led peace operations, noting that the courage to respond to crises must be matched with 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.
Tinubu stated that AFRIDEX must become a platform where military experience informs innovation, industry strengthens national capabilities, and partnerships deliver practical solutions.
He said the objective was to build an Africa capable of defending its people and securing the peace necessary for progress.
“We gather with a shared responsibility: to secure our nations, protect our people and safeguard Africa’s future.
“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.
“They threaten lives and livelihoods, disrupt trade and weaken 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 noted that Nigeria understood the cost of insecurity, including lives lost, communities displaced, livelihoods disrupted and opportunities denied.
He said the country’s Armed Forces had confronted terrorism, insurgency, banditry, piracy and other transnational threats with courage and sacrifice.
The President honoured the service of the Armed Forces and remembered those who had paid the supreme price, stressing that their sacrifices placed an obligation on the government to provide the leadership, equipment, training and support they needed.
He added that Nigeria had also learned that lasting security required strong institutions, public trust, reliable partnerships and the industrial capacity to sustain defence capabilities.
Tinubu reiterated that defence partnerships must deliver lasting value beyond the supply of equipment, emphasising that major acquisitions should promote skills development, knowledge transfer, local industrial growth and the ability to maintain military equipment.
He maintained that successful partnerships should leave African countries with stronger technical expertise, growing enterprises and more capable institutions.
The President also charged African countries to secure the seas connecting their economies to one another and to the rest of the world.
He described the Gulf of Guinea as vital to trade, energy security and shared prosperity, urging stronger maritime cooperation to protect legitimate commerce and prevent criminal networks from finding safe havens.
Tinubu further called on African countries to prepare for the changing nature of conflict, noting that cyber capabilities, space technologies, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems were transforming the security environment.
He said Africa must invest in the knowledge and institutions needed to understand these technologies, use them responsibly and develop indigenous solutions.
“Our young people have the talent; our responsibility is to create the opportunity,” he said.
President Tinubu further stressed that AFRIDEX 2026 represented a renewed determination to transform Africa’s potential into practical capabilities.
He expressed hope that partnerships established at the exhibition would strengthen military readiness, knowledge exchange would inspire innovators, and commitments made would produce visible results for the people.
“We owe them nations where peace creates opportunity, where service earns trust and where the future can be approached with confidence,” he said.
Jackson Udom
Special Assistant to the President of the Senate on Media