KEY POINTS
- Kalu urged the defence industry to build arms locally rather than rely on imports.
- He charged the financial sector to tighten monitoring and block terrorist financing.
- He cited the House’s 289-2 vote for state police as patriotic, not partisan.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has urged Nigeria’s defence industry to deepen local capacity for building arms rather than rely on imports. He also charged the financial sector to tighten its net against criminal and terrorist financial flows.
A call for shared responsibility
Kalu made the appeal at the Nigeria People’s Strategic Conference and Defence Exhibition 2026 in Abuja, held under the theme “Building a Modern Security Ecosystem: Integrating Private Sector Capacity into Nigeria’s National Security Architecture.” According to him, the country must end its dependence on foreign arms and build a homegrown defence ecosystem that creates jobs and reduces vulnerabilities.
Moreover, he insisted that the conference must produce binding commitments across every sector. “Every sector represented in this room must leave with a specific, measurable role in Nigeria’s security architecture. The defence industry must deepen local capacity so that we do not import what we can produce,” he said.
Furthermore, Kalu assigned clear roles to other players. He said the technology sector should provide platforms for intelligence sharing and community early warning, while the financial sector must tighten the chokepoints through which criminal and terrorist financing flows. In addition, he tasked civil society with bridging the gaps between communities and government.
Legislative backing and a defiant tone
On its part, Kalu said the legislature would keep providing the legal scaffolding for the wider effort. “We will continue to review the constitution where it needs reviewing. We will appropriate resources where resources are needed,” he said, adding that lawmakers would legislate “not for public applause but for the protection of lives.”
Notably, he pointed to a recent vote as proof of unity, recalling that the House backed a state police constitutional amendment by 289 to 2. According to him, that near-unanimity reflected patriotism rather than partisanship, and it must inspire matching resolve across other sectors.
Finally, Kalu pushed back firmly against claims that the country is collapsing. “Nigeria is not failing; Nigeria is fighting. There is a difference. A failing country stops trying. Nigeria has never stopped trying,” he said. Ultimately, he framed a safer country as a shared project, arguing that resilience must meet structure and that courage must meet policy, so the sacrifice of ordinary Nigerians earns a security ecosystem worthy of it.
