Nigeria and Türkiye are looking to rewrite the script of their defence partnership, with both countries pushing for joint production, technology transfer and local manufacturing instead of a relationship driven mainly by the purchase of military equipment.
The new direction emerged at the 7th Nigeria–Türkiye Defence Industry Business Forum held in Abuja on Wednesday, where Nigerian and Turkish officials and defence industry players explored ways to turn their longstanding security relationship into a stronger industrial partnership.
The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd.), said Nigeria wants to move beyond the traditional buyer-seller model and build a partnership that will enable the country to acquire the skills and technologies needed to produce, maintain and upgrade defence equipment locally.
Musa said the partnership should cover joint production, local manufacturing, technology transfer, research and development, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and skills development.
He said Nigeria’s goal is to develop a strong and globally competitive defence industry capable of meeting the needs of the Armed Forces while creating jobs, strengthening local supply chains and positioning the country as a defence manufacturing hub in Africa.
The Minister pointed to Türkiye’s transformation into a major defence-industrial power as an example Nigeria can learn from, citing its investment in research, innovation, private-sector participation and indigenous production.
He said Nigeria is interested in Türkiye not simply as a supplier of military equipment, but as a strategic partner in its defence industrialisation drive.
The Turkish delegation led by the Vice President of Türkiye’s Defence Industries Agency, Gokman Ucar, stressed the need to take the bilateral relationship beyond traditional defence cooperation and deepen industrial collaboration between companies from both countries.
Ucar also called for stronger links between Nigerian and Turkish defence companies, with business-to-business meetings expected to identify specific areas for collaboration.
Discussions at the forum are focused on joint production, technology transfer, localisation, investment opportunities and regulatory frameworks.
Also speaking , the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, said the forum comes at a critical time in Nigeria’s drive to build indigenous defence capacity.
He urged both countries to explore practical models for joint production, technology licensing, co-development and localisation, stressing that the real opportunity lies in turning policies and agreements into actual industrial capability.
Matawalle said the engagement should open a new chapter in Nigeria–Türkiye defence cooperation, defined by mutual investment, technology transfer, innovation and long-term strategic value.
Adding to the conversation, the Director General Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON Major General Babatunde Alaya, said the evolving security environment has made indigenous production increasingly important.
He said defence strength should no longer be measured only by the equipment a country purchases, but also by its ability to produce, sustain, repair, adapt and innovate.
He equally noted that Türkiye’s expertise, combined with Nigeria’s market, human capital and industrial potential, could create productive partnerships capable of strengthening the country’s defence production resilience.
It called for agreements reached during the engagement to translate into actual production lines, technology partnerships, maintenance capabilities and skills-development programmes.
The forum is part of the broader Nigeria–Türkiye defence cooperation framework and brings together government officials, defence institutions, investors and companies from both countries.