Africa Must Shift From Technology Consumers to Innovators, Says VP Shettima at Chiefs of Defense Summit

 

Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has urged African nations to move beyond merely consuming technology and instead focus on becoming innovators and proprietors of the tools necessary to secure the continent’s future. His comments came during the African Chiefs of Defense Staff Summit, a high-level, three-day gathering held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja from August 25 to 27, 2025.

Themed “Combating Contemporary Threats to Regional Security in Africa: The Role of Strategic Defense Collaboration,” the summit brought together military leaders and defense experts from all 54 African countries, highlighting the shared challenges and opportunities in strengthening the continent’s security architecture.

Shettima emphasized that Africa faces increasingly complex and unconventional security threats, including cyber attacks, digital espionage, and other “invisible” dangers that do not follow traditional patterns of conflict. These challenges, he stressed, require innovative thinking, technological ownership, and collaboration between governments and the private sector to build sustainable and resilient defense systems.

“The future of Africa is shaped by the choices we make today,” Shettima declared. “We must rise above division and embrace cooperation. Let us imagine and build an Africa where peace is not the exception, but the norm.”

He further highlighted unity as the cornerstone of a robust African security framework. The Vice President reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to acting as a responsible regional partner through peacekeeping missions, counterterrorism operations, and humanitarian interventions. By positioning itself as “a good neighbor and a brother’s keeper,” Nigeria aims to support regional stability while encouraging collaboration among African states.

The Importance of Regional Collaboration

Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, echoed the Vice President’s call for teamwork, noting that modern insurgents and criminal networks do not respect national borders. “We must work together as neighbors to confront these threats,” Musa said. “This summit provides a platform for us to coordinate strategies that benefit all countries involved.”

The summit also addressed the growing challenge posed by insurgent groups across Africa. Former Nigerian Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, painted a sobering picture, revealing that over 1,000 insurgency groups are currently operating across the continent. Gambari urged nations to prioritize securing their own borders as a prerequisite for any successful regional or continental interventions.

“Our regional economic commissions must go beyond fostering trade and economic integration. They need to actively tackle banditry, terrorism, and insurgency,” Gambari emphasized. He also called for greater investment in African defense industries to reduce reliance on foreign powers. By strengthening local capabilities, African nations can ensure that strategic security decisions are driven by regional priorities rather than external interests.

Embracing Pan-African Defense Vision

Both Shettima and Gambari invoked the vision of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, for a united Africa capable of strategic defense cooperation. They argued that while political and economic integration efforts have made progress, true continental security requires a unified approach to defense, intelligence sharing, and technological innovation.

Despite the African Union’s ambitious Agenda 2063 framework—which initially aimed to “silence the guns” by 2020 but was later extended to 2030—violence and conflicts continue to plague the continent. Countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, regions of the Sahel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and parts of Southern Africa continue to experience instability, insurgencies, and armed conflicts. This reality underscores the urgency of coordinated action and the need to move beyond rhetoric toward practical, collective solutions.

A Call for Technological Ownership and Innovation

A central theme of the summit was the imperative for African nations to take ownership of modern defense technologies. Shettima stressed that dependence on foreign systems and expertise limits Africa’s ability to respond to emerging threats effectively. By investing in local innovation and fostering public-private partnerships, African states can develop the tools needed to secure their own territories and contribute to regional stability.

Cybersecurity, in particular, emerged as a priority area. The Vice President noted that the digital era has introduced threats that are not only difficult to detect but also highly adaptable. As such, developing indigenous cyber defense capabilities is essential to protect critical infrastructure, sensitive information, and civilian populations.

Strengthening Continental Defense Mechanisms

The summit highlighted several key strategies to enhance Africa’s security posture. These included intelligence sharing, coordinated military exercises, and the creation of rapid-response mechanisms to deal with cross-border threats. Participants also discussed ways to support peacekeeping initiatives and humanitarian interventions, ensuring that African nations can respond effectively to crises without excessive reliance on external actors.

Ultimately, the summit served as a reminder that Africa’s security challenges are interconnected, requiring a shared commitment to collaboration, innovation, and strategic planning. Shettima’s message was clear: the continent must seize the opportunity to shape its own future by developing homegrown solutions, fostering unity, and prioritizing peace as a permanent objective.

As insurgencies, terrorism, and digital threats continue to evolve, the African Chiefs of Defense Staff Summit underscored the urgent need for action. Only through cooperation, technological advancement, and a shared commitment to security can Africa hope to create a future where peace is the rule rather than the exception.

In conclusion, Vice President Kashim Shettima’s address was both a warning and a call to action. African nations are at a crossroads: they can continue as passive consumers of foreign technology and fragmented security policies, or they can become innovators and architects of a safer, more stable continent. The choice will determine the future of Africa for generations to come.