When Kashifu Inuwa, the director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), took the stage at the State House in Abuja during a plenary session on “Technology, Migration & Trade Representation”, his message was clear: Nigeria will not be a spectator in the global artificial intelligence (AI) race, it will be a shaper.
Standing before stakeholders of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, Inuwa painted a picture of a nation ready to define its technological destiny, deeply rooted in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Our goal is not just to consume AI; we want to create it, own it, and make sure it reflects who we are as Nigerians,” he declared.
At the heart of this bold ambition lies the National AI Strategy, a framework that lays the foundation for how Nigeria intends to lead the continent into an intelligent future.
According to Inuwa, this strategy begins with building the right infrastructure, expanding connectivity, developing sovereign cloud platforms, and creating clean, representative national datasets that ensure inclusivity.
One of the proudest milestones so far, he said, was the launch of Nigeria’s Multilingual Large Language Model in New York, an innovation designed to make sure that African languages and cultures are not erased in the coming AI revolution.
“For us, it’s not enough that AI understands English or French, it must also understand Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and our other local dialects,” Inuwa said. “Our identity should live in the algorithms that shape the world.”
But infrastructure alone is not enough. Inuwa emphasized that people remain the heartbeat of innovation.
Through initiatives like the Nigerian Startup Act, NITDA is nurturing a thriving ecosystem where founders, investors, and policymakers collaborate to build solutions that matter.
“Innovation does not happen in isolation,” he explained. “That’s why we are deliberately prioritizing inclusivity, especially giving women founders space to thrive in tech.”
He also painted a picture of how AI will transform critical sectors, from helping doctors diagnose faster, to empowering farmers to predict yields more accurately, and enabling manufacturers to eliminate inefficiencies.
“AI will not replace people,” Inuwa clarified. “It will amplify human capacity, making us 10 times more productive than we are today.”
However, he issued a warning, one that reveals the moral heart of Nigeria’s AI journey: technology without inclusion is injustice.
“If you are digitally invisible, AI will not see you,” he cautioned. “That’s why every NITDA initiative insists on at least 40% women representation. We must build a future that includes everyone.”
As Nigeria continues to craft its AI governance framework, Inuwa said collaboration remains key, between government, innovators, academia, and the global community. The goal is simple: to create policies that protect innovation while safeguarding citizens.
In closing, the NITDA DG summed up Nigeria’s intent in one powerful statement:
“We’re not waiting to be carried along in the AI revolution. We are building the future, one innovation, one ecosystem, one Nigerian language at a time.”
With this vision, Nigeria sends a clear message to the world: its journey into the age of AI is not just about technology, it’s about people, prosperity, and purpose.
