When Nigerian drone startup, Terra Industries, outbid an Israeli consortium to secure a $1.2 million contract to protect hydropower facilities in June 2025, it appeared to signal a turning point for indigenous defence technology.
But in his recent analysis, Fatai Babatunde, who is an emerging technologies and innovation strategist in Africa, said the deal exposes a deeper paradox shaping Nigeria’s security future, one where technical capability exists, but capital and policy quietly determine how far it can go.
“This is not a story about
