The Federal Government of Nigeria dismissed the possibilities of hiring foreign forces to combat the insecurity in the country. This was revealed in a statement issued by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar at the state house Abuja, during a joint briefing with his China counterpart, Wang Yi.
Tuggar said Nigerian Forces has all it takes to fight for their country, and their effective consistency in helping their neighboring countries fight their security challenges cannot be overemphasized.
The statement partly read, “And we do this whenever we partner with other countries and have their support, including major powers that are outside of our region, outside of Africa, and we appreciate that sort of approach.
“And this is why we work well with countries like China. Where we have a problem is whenever Nigeria is left out of such arrangements, it becomes more challenging.
“And it is not just a one-off thing. It is not a fluke. It is because of Nigeria’s place and position on the continent and in our region, and that is why we take a firm stand and say, let us work together towards solving our problems by ourselves, let us shun this idea of allowing others to come in to solve our problems for us.
“So, private military companies, as far as we are concerned, it doesn’t matter whether they’re from north, south, east, west, we don’t think it is going to provide the panacea. But when you work with us, then we are able to lead others in solving the problem.”
Tuggar expressed Nigeria’s readiness work closely with china in domesticating production of military gadgets, both kinetic and non-kinetic.
His said, “This is what we are looking for so that we don’t have to go out looking to procure because of the delays and so many rules and regulations, we need to be able to produce locally.
“Nigeria is a very responsible country working with the constitution. We’ve never had any expansionist tendencies, which is why others reposed so much confidence in us and in our leadership.
“And we will continue to work with countries such as China in addressing these challenges and rely on countries such as China, also, to work with us towards ensuring that private military companies’ outside interference remains outside.”
Tuggar said the Chinese minister’s visit was building on the gains of the Forum on China, Africa Cooperation held in 2024 and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s state visit to China.
The Chinese minister in his remarks admitted that the strategic collaboration between President Bola Tinubu and President Xi Jinping had yielded positive results.
The Chinese minister said, “First, we’ve achieved a new leap in the characterization of our relations our two Presidents jointly announced the elevation of China-Nigeria relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
“Second, we’ve worked together to establish a new platform. The first plenary session of the Intergovernmental Committee between China and Nigeria has been successfully held, contributing to the elevation in the quality of our cooperation.
“Third, our cooperation in the international arena has reached new heights. Our two sides have coordinated closely in international and regional affairs and worked together for the collective rise, development and vitalization of the Global South.
“Over more than half a century since the establishment of diplomatic ties, no matter how changes occur in the international landscape, China and Nigeria have always in the spirit of mutual respect and equality, deepened our friendship and pursued practical cooperation, setting a fine example of South-South cooperation, and an important exemplar of China Africa cooperation,” he concluded.