Maduegbunam: No Country Will Transfer Technology to Us for Free
Linus Aleke in Abuja
A former Director-General of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), Major General Nnaemeka Maduegbunam (rtd), has said that no country will transfer technology to Nigeria for free, stressing that technology is what gives advanced countries an edge over developing nations.
Maduegbunam charged Nigerian leaders to look inward and harness the ingenuity of Nigerians to advance the country technologically.
He argued that Nigeria has the brainpower and expertise needed to develop indigenous technologies capable of addressing its pressing challenges.
Speaking at the official unveiling of his book, ‘We Can Do It: Towards Nigeria’s Self-Reliance in Science and Technology,’ the author said: “There is no way a foreigner will simply transfer technology to us for free. Technology has value, and that is what gives them an edge over us.
“Whenever you hear about technology transfer, you must understand that nobody will simply hand over valuable technology without consideration. What will help us is indigenous capacity.
“When I wrote this book, the dream of making DICON work was very much on my mind because DICON itself is an embodiment of the principle that we can do it. I was able to achieve what we achieved because of the support I received from my superiors and colleagues. If you have a plan and the resources are not made available, it will not work. There are no two ways about it.”
He recalled how he revived DICON with $1 billion after it had remained moribund for more than 40 years and manufactured indigenous AK-47 rifles, code-named OBJ-06.
He also commended the efforts of his successors, particularly Major General Victor Ezugwu, under whose tenure DICON locally manufactured the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, code-named “Ezugwu”.
“We have the brains. The problem is that sometimes we sit down and assume that everything must come from outside.
“If you examine some of the equipment in our organisations, the problem that has kept it out of service may not even require more than N10,000 or N20,000 to fix.
“There was a time when we had spent virtually all our available funds. The amount required to fix a particular piece of equipment was about N10,000, while the equipment itself had significant value.
“This is the point I am trying to make: we have the capacity to solve many of our problems if we look inwards,” he said.
In his remark, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, said the Nigerian military could not perform optimally by depending solely on external solutions.
Represented by the Commander of Nigerian Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (NAEME) Corps, the COAS said: “Today, the Nigerian Army continues to pursue home-grown solutions to some of its operational equipment challenges while promoting local capacity, innovation, maintenance and repair.
“This approach is consistent with the Nigerian Army’s desire to reduce dependence on external solutions and build sustainable capabilities within the service.
“The title of this book, ‘We Can Do It,’ aptly reflects the spirit of self-belief, innovation and determination required to overcome challenges and achieve meaningful progress. It is a message that resonates with the Nigerian Army’s continued efforts to develop solutions that are responsive to our peculiar operational requirements.”
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Bathlomew Nnaji, said Nigeria could not address the high cost of defence equipment and the impact of the skyrocketing exchange rate without producing military hardware locally.
According to him, “There is really no way, when we are talking about bringing down costs and addressing the skyrocketing exchange rate, that we can achieve this without local production.
“What this general has done is to go to DICON and show that it can be done; that, in fact, we can do it.
“We can produce various weapons. We can produce tanks. We can produce all kinds of hardware and even software.
“There is one company that was started by some young people that produces drones. I am sure many of us have heard about them. They are producing defence industry products, and I understand that DICON is partnering with them.
“That is the sort of thing that should be done.”
He said the military, using DICON as a platform, should be able to identify what it wants to produce, demonstrate how it can be done and then develop the necessary capacity to manufacture such equipment locally, perhaps allow other civilian industries out there to participate through partnerships.