APQ - APPON PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY

The huge invention and manufacture of the needed weaponry by the scientists, blacksmiths and other artisans of the Research and Armaments Production (RAP) of the Industrial Military Complex of the Biafran Army necessitated by the Nigerian civil war reveals that the need for the Nigerian Army, Nigeria and indeed Africa to look inward cannot be overemphasized, essentially bearing in mind the current challenge of insecurity in Nigeria, the overreliance on other States for the supply of weaponry to tackle the menace amidst suspicions that it is being sponsored by some of those States expectedly relied on for the supply of weaponry. Although so much encomiums have gone for the scientists of the Research and Armaments Production (RAP) for their enormous contributions to the warefforts of the failed Republic of Biafra, not much has been said about the role of the blacksmiths and other artisans involved in this great milestone, which truly deserves recognition, knowing that no State can be stronger than the one she depends on for weaponry and others. Against this backdrop, the paper argues that self-reliancism is the sine qua non for Africa’s development. The African continent truly needs to look inward, develop and produce her weapons, food, etc, if she must be respected among comity of nations. A strong army, food security, etc, are essential for the advancement of the economic and political frontiers of a State. The paper is of the position that thinking and indeed scholarship should be problem-centric as demonstrated by Plato, the quintessential Greek philosopher as an essential ingredient for the overall advancement of society. The work adopts the descriptive and analyticalhistorical approach. The paper submits that galvanizing, harmonizing and utilizing the knowledge of the scientists/elites, the skills of the artisans and the support of everyone are needed for a State to develop and be selfreliant. It therefore recommends the embrace of self-reliancism as the underlying philosophy of development.

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