President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that defence partnership among African countries must deliver the expected outcomes and value long after equipment has been supplied 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, President Tinubu said, ”Every major acquisition should help develop skills, transfer knowledge, strengthen local industry and deepen our capacity to maintain what we operate”.
The measure of a successful partnership, according to Tinubu, “is the capability it leaves behind. African engineers must gain expertise; African enterprises must grow; African institutions must become stronger. The same determination must guide our support for African-led peace operations. The courage to respond to crises must be matched by 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.
“Africa Defence AFRIDEX must become a meeting point where military experience informs innovation, industry strengthens national capability, and partnerships deliver practical solutions. Our purpose is clear: to help build an Africa capable of defending its people and securing the peace upon which progress depends.
“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”.
Speaking further, Tinubu noted, “Nigeria speaks from experience. We know the cost of insecurity: the lives lost, the communities displaced, the livelihoods interrupted and the opportunities denied. Our Armed Forces have confronted terrorism, insurgency, banditry, piracy and other transnational threats with courage and sacrifice.
“We honour their service and remember those who have paid the supreme price. Their sacrifices place an obligation upon us to provide the leadership, equipment, training and support they need. We have also learned that lasting security requires strong institutions, public trust, reliable partnerships and the industrial capacity to sustain our defence capabilities.
“Our defence partnerships must therefore deliver value long after equipment has been supplied. Every major acquisition should help develop skills, transfer knowledge, strengthen local industry and deepen our capacity to maintain what we operate. The measure of a successful partnership is the capability it leaves behind. African engineers must gain expertise; African enterprises must grow; African institutions must become stronger. The same determination must guide our support for African-led peace operations. The courage to respond to crises must be matched by 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 charged African miltary to ensure that, “we also secure the seas that connect our economies to one another and to the world. The Gulf of Guinea is vital to our trade, energy security and shared prosperity. We must strengthen maritime cooperation so that legitimate commerce can flourish and criminal networks find no sanctuary. At the same time, we must prepare for the changing character of conflict. Cyber capabilities, space technologies, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are transforming the security environment. Africa must invest in the knowledge and institutions required to understand these technologies, use them responsibly and develop solutions of our own. Our young people have the talent; our responsibility is to create the opportunity”.
President Tinubu further stressed that “AFRIDEX 2026 marks a renewed determination to turn African potential into African capability. Let the partnerships formed here strengthen our readiness; let the knowledge exchanged here inspire our innovators; and let the commitments made here produce results our people can see. We owe them nations where peace creates opportunity, where service earns trust and where the future can be approached with confidence according to a statement by
Jackson Udom
Special Assistant to President of the Senate on Media.
