Defence minister Christopher Musa has urged Nigerian innovators, startups, and researchers to direct their expertise toward developing homegrown solutions to the nation’s security challenges.

This was disclosed in a statement on Thursday by his spokesman, Leah Katung-Babatunde.

Ms Katung-Babatunde said that Mr Musa gave the charge while speaking at the Omniverse Africa 3.0 Summit in Lagos.

Mr Musa delivered a keynote address titled ‘The 70/30 Rule: Why Nigeria’s Security and Innovation Agendas are the Same National Project’.

He noted that national security in the 21st century could no longer depend solely on conventional military hardware, emphasising the need for Nigeria to transition from a consumer to a producer of defence technology.

”The future requires us to complement courage with technology, foresight, industrial capability, and innovation. We must secure the nation today, but we must also build the capabilities that will secure the nation tomorrow,” he said.

Mr Musa revealed that the ministry was restructuring its doctrine, acquisition processes, and training to prioritise unmanned systems and robotics, surveillance technologies, cybersecurity and resilience, secure communications, AI governance, data-driven decision tools, and advanced domestic manufacturing.

He linked the push to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for industrialisation.

He noted that ongoing reforms at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria were aimed at creating an ecosystem where defence investments drive economic growth, high-tech jobs, university research, and new commercial markets.

The minister also inaugurated the Defence Futures Lab Pathway, a side event convened by Kryterion, a global assessment company that provides secure testing, certification and remote proctoring solutions to strengthen collaboration between the military and the tech ecosystem.

He cautioned participants that the forum was not a procurement session but a platform for capability development and strategic foresight.

”This is an opportunity to think ahead, organise better, and explore practical ways of strengthening the wider defence ecosystem,” he said.

The roundtable agreed to reconvene in three months to assess progress, review initial technology concepts, and align actions with the federal government’s indigenous defence strategy.

(NAN)