Would you buy a ‘Made in Nigeria’ bullet proof vest?

With the spate of bombings and the dire state of insecurity in the country, President, Goodluck Jonathan wants to tackle security from another angle: a bullet-proof vest production factory. Commissioned today in Kaduna, the factory is based at the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and according to President Jonathan, it signals that the “nation’s military establishment has effectively keyed into the Federal Government’s local content policy which is aimed at building indigenous capacity in the petroleum and other sectors of the national economy.”

To ensure the success of his latest initiative, President Jonathan has urged all Nigerians to show patriotism by buying DICON products which will include bullet-proof vests and textile for the Nigerian Armed forces and other security agencies in the country. No stone is being left unturned in ensuring that DICON has customers; the president has said that a new directive which would compel all Federal agencies to patronize DICON will be issued soon. Unless these agencies convincingly prove that the vests or materials they need are not available locally, it’s DICON or nothing else.

Established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament, DICON was set up “produce small arms and ammunitions for the use of the Nigerian Army, paramilitary and security agencies in the county.” We wait to see DICON’s impact in ensuring our security agencies are well-equipped to tackle the many security issues in the country.