The Case for Sustaining Nigeria's Armoured Truck Program: Reflections on the Retirement of Major General Victor Ezegwu ftom the Nigerian Army

This piece reflects on the recent retirement of Major General Victor Ezugwu, former Director General of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON). While his departure marks the close of an important chapter, it must not signal the end of the remarkable initiative he pioneered: Nigeria’s indigenous armoured truck program.

Together with his team, Major General Ezugwu led the development and production of Nigerian-made armoured vehicles — an achievement that stands as a landmark in our military-industrial history. His story, as reported by Punch newspaper, is both inspiring and cautionary. The mere possibility that this program could be abandoned following his retirement is cause for serious concern.

History offers a powerful lesson. During the Nigerian Civil War, the Biafran army, under immense pressure and blockade, engineered the Ugbunigwe (popularly known as the Ojukwu Bucket), along with other locally produced weapons like rocket-propelled grenades and landmines. These innovations reflected a depth of engineering ingenuity rarely acknowledged. One would have expected the federal government to incorporate these engineers into the Nigerian armed forces post-war. Yet that expertise was discarded.

A nation that demonstrated such technical capability over five decades ago should, by now, be a hub for indigenous weapons manufacturing, especially given the difficulties President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration faced in procuring arms abroad during the war against Boko Haram. Instead, we remain reliant on foreign suppliers, often paying exorbitantly for equipment that we could build ourselves.

Following the collapse of President Shehu Shagari’s administration, the Nigerian military became preoccupied with political power rather than professional development. That neglect left us unprepared for the insurgencies that later ravaged the North East. If we had invested in local research, manufacturing, and engineering, we might not have found ourselves so vulnerable.

General Ezugwu’s armoured truck program offered a course correction. If one locally built armoured vehicle costs approximately ₦250 million—compared to ₦900 million to ₦1 billion for an imported one—then the financial benefits are self-evident. Beyond cost savings, local production strengthens national security, reduces dependency, and creates jobs across related industries—steel, chassis manufacturing, logistics, and maintenance services. This is precisely how countries like Turkey, India, and Pakistan built self-reliant military-industrial complexes.

Yet the threat of discontinuing this initiative looms large, largely due to entrenched interests in foreign procurement deals, which remain lucrative for influential defence contractors. If constitutional age limits or tenure rules mandated General Ezugwu’s retirement, so be it; however, he should be immediately re-engaged in a civilian capacity to continue leading this critical initiative. His expertise is not only valuable; it is irreplaceable at this stage.

Nigeria has an opportunity to emerge as a leader in armoured vehicle production for developing countries, particularly across West and Central Africa. Why shouldn’t we be exporting defence equipment rather than importing it? Why dismantle progress instead of institutionalising it?

A critical obstacle to sustained military development lies in the misuse of the Federal Character and Quota System in recruitment and promotion. While inclusiveness is important, it must not come at the expense of merit and competence. National defence requires the best minds and the highest standards. We must balance diversity with excellence to build a modern, effective fighting force.

With visionary leadership and continuity, we can replicate the models of Singapore and South Korea—nations that turned scarcity into strength. But this begins with decisions like the one before us: to preserve and expand a homegrown military innovation program that has already proven its worth.

So the question remains: Why retire the vision with the man? Why not empower him further to train a new generation of military engineers, meet our internal security needs, and drive an industrial revolution in defence manufacturing?

This is not just about armoured trucks. It is about national dignity, self-reliance, and economic transformation.

Mr. Alex Aidaghese is currently on an extended visit to Nigeria. He is the managing partner at Alex & Partners, a boutique law practice and consultancy firm with offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Mr. Aidaghese holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law and Policy. He may be contacted via text at +243 807 762 0672 or by email at ehilexander@gmail.com.