AFRICA MUST ASSERT TECHNOLOGICAL SOVEREIGNTY IN DEFENCE, SAYS FORMER ARMY CHIEF BURATAI AT KIGALI SECURITY CONFERENCE
… Reform or Risk Irrelevance: African Defence Institutions Must Evolve for the Age of AI Warfare
KIGALI, RWANDA – Former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai (Rtd), CFR, has issued a compelling call for African nations to pursue technological sovereignty in defence and security, warning that the continent risks being left behind as artificial intelligence and autonomous systems rapidly transform the character of modern warfare.
Speaking at a high-level panel during the International Security Conference on Africa (ISCA) in Kigali, Buratai challenged African policymakers to move beyond passive technology consumption and build indigenous capacity to develop, adapt, and regulate systems suited to the continent’s unique security realities.
He stressed that technologies designed for different operational environments cannot be transferred without appropriate adaptation and local expertise. The former Army Chief called for stronger collaboration among governments, defence institutions, universities, and technology companies to foster homegrown innovation.
Buratai also underscored the need to understand different levels of autonomy in military systems—from remotely controlled to fully autonomous—warning that increasing sophistication raises fundamental questions about human control, accountability, and the ethical boundaries of machine decision-making in critical security matters.
Drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, he urged African defence institutions to recalibrate their structures, embrace institutional agility, and invest in research, technical education, and military innovation. True strategic capacity, he argued, requires human expertise and research ecosystems—not just equipment purchases.
His message was emphatic: Africa must be proactive, not reactive. The continent cannot afford to wait until autonomous warfare becomes the dominant reality before preparing for it.
