The Federal Government has restated its resolve to develop a sovereign and responsible artificial intelligence ecosystem that will enable Nigeria to move beyond consumption of foreign technologies and begin building indigenous AI systems.
This commitment was reaffirmed by the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, during a virtual presentation at the InnovateAI Conference in Lagos.
Addressing policymakers, innovators and technology leaders, Inuwa outlined Nigeria’s ambition to become an architect of AI solutions tailored to its national priorities, cultural realities and developmental needs. He stressed that ownership of AI systems is essential for long-term competitiveness and digital independence.
According to him, the country’s AI vision extends beyond deploying smart tools to building the underlying infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and governance models required for sustainable innovation.
He warned that rigid regulatory systems could hinder progress, advocating instead for adaptable, forward-looking policies capable of evolving alongside emerging technologies. Responsible AI, he noted, must be guided by continuous learning, oversight and stakeholder collaboration.
Inuwa also drew attention to the imbalance in global AI training datasets, explaining that many models are developed using limited African data. This, he said, often results in bias and weak contextual performance when applied in Nigeria.
To address this gap, he emphasised the need to invest in local data infrastructure and retrain AI systems using inclusive, representative Nigerian datasets that reflect the country’s linguistic and demographic diversity.
While underscoring the importance of sovereignty, he acknowledged the value of global partnerships. Strategic collaboration with international technology firms, he said, can help Nigeria build robust AI infrastructure, provided such partnerships align with national interests and local values.
He further advocated a comprehensive AI lifecycle approach—spanning data governance, system design, deployment, monitoring and continuous improvement, to ensure transparency, trust and accountability in AI adoption.
The NITDA Director General reaffirmed that the Federal Government remains intentional about shaping national AI guardrails through collaboration with industry players, researchers and policy experts.
As Nigeria advances its National AI Strategy, the government’s message is clear: the country aims not only to participate in the global AI revolution but to help define it on its own terms.
