MIRIAM NNOLI 
The Chief Of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa, on Friday, assured that the military is on the path to becoming a superpower in the production of military equipment in a few years.
General Musa who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today Programme noted that the military used to produce some of its weapons at the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) but that slowed down over the years.
According to him, despite the drawback, General Musa expressed optimism at the resumption of production of military equipment saying the Nigerian military is now making the small calibre of weapons directly.
General Musa said the production of military equipment locally will help create employment for the youths and as well improve the country’s foreign exchange.
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Gen. Musa stated, “Sometimes we gain traction and then it goes down, but now, with the signing of the DICON Bill, we are going to make sure it is sustainable.
“People are interested, people are coming in, we are having a lot of partners going into it and I can assure you that in a few years, Nigeria too will be a superpower in producing its own equipment.
“We used to assemble guns from DICON but it stopped, that is being restored now. We produce our own ammunition now. Directly we do that for small calibre 7.62mm, we do that and 9mm, we also do that.
“We want to do the 5.6 and then go to the higher calibres from 12.7 and above. So those are the things we are working on. You know, the funny thing is that the Nigerian DICON started 60 years last year, the same time as Brazil’s.
“Brazil is producing unmanned aircraft and unmanned submarines, they have gone very far, and we want to achieve that.” Gen. Musa added
