Insecurity: Nigeria, China Forge Partnership For Local Arms Production, Military Training

The Nigerian government has announced plans to strengthen its security collaboration with China, focusing on local arms production and military training.

Naijaonpoint understands that this initiative is part of Nigeria’s strategy to combat terrorism and address insecurity within its borders and across the region.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed this during a briefing with State House correspondents after President Bola Tinubu hosted China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.

Wang Yi’s visit to Nigeria is part of his four-nation African tour, which includes stops in Namibia, DR Congo, and Chad.

Highlighting the importance of the partnership, Tuggar explained that working with China would enable Nigeria and neighboring countries to respond more effectively to shared security threats.

“We want to work with countries like China in domesticating production of military equipment, both kinetic and non-kinetic.

“We’re looking for this, so, we don’t have to go out looking to procure with delays and many rules and regulations. We need to be able to produce locally,” Tuggar said.

This move aligns with recent remarks by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who identified arms procurement as one of the military’s biggest challenges.

General Musa noted in a recent interview with Al Jazeera that lengthy regulations often delayed the delivery of critical equipment for frontline troops.

The government’s push for self-reliance in arms production has led to discussions about leveraging Chinese expertise to establish local manufacturing capabilities.

During a visit to troops in Plateau State, General Musa suggested the possibility of recruiting skilled citizens to produce firearms and military-grade equipment locally.

Tuggar reiterated this stance, emphasizing that Nigeria would not depend on private military companies to resolve its security issues. He also underscored Nigeria’s leadership role in West Africa’s security, particularly in the Sahel region.

“Let us work together towards solving our problems by ourselves. Let us shun this idea of allowing others to solve our problems for us. So, private military companies, as far as we are concerned, don’t matter whether they’re from north, south, east, or west. We don’t think it is going to provide the panacea.

“But when you (China) work with us, we can lead others in solving the problem. Nigeria is a very responsible country working with the constitution, so we’ve never had any expansionist tendencies.

“This is why others repose so much confidence in us and our leadership. And we will continue to work with countries such as China to address these challenges,” Tuggar stated.

Joint Commitment to African-Led Security Solutions

Both Nigeria and China reaffirmed their commitment to African-led solutions to regional security challenges, rejecting external interference in the continent’s affairs.

Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Minister, emphasized the importance of African nations taking ownership of their peacekeeping and counterterrorism efforts.

China pledged substantial support for Africa’s security initiatives, including a CN¥1 billion military assistance package.

This support will encompass training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers across various African countries.

Additionally, Beijing will back the African Standby Force and rapid response units to enhance regional peacekeeping capabilities.

“China will firmly support Africa in strengthening peace and security capacity building. We will work with Africa to establish a partnership for implementing the Global Security Initiative, or GSI, and make it a fine example of GSI cooperation.

“We will work to advance the partnership action for common security and provide CN¥1bn of grants in military assistance to Africa and help train 6000 military personnel and 1000 police and law enforcement personnel for African countries.

“China will also continue to support the building of the African standby force and the rapid response forces and support African countries in carrying out counter-terrorism peacekeeping operations. China will firmly support Africa in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, practising true multilateralism and not letting power politics and bullyism (sic) find their place in Africa,” Wang affirmed.

Wang also reaffirmed China’s stance against power politics and external domination in Africa, stressing the need for true multilateralism and the protection of Africa’s legitimate interests.