Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has urged African governments to collaborate in building artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and governance, warning that failure to act could further widen the continent’s productivity gap with the rest of the world.
Tijani delivered the warning in his keynote address on Monday at the inaugural GITEX Nigeria Summit 2025, a four-day technology event taking place in Abuja and Lagos. The summit, supported by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is aimed at accelerating digital transformation and innovation across the country.
“The risk for Africa is clear; if we are not deliberate, AI will widen the global productivity gap. Countries already ahead will move even faster, and those of us still catching up will find ourselves even further behind,” Tijani said.
The minister drew comparisons with agriculture, noting that Nigeria produces about 2.5 tonnes of maize per hectare compared to 6 tonnes in South Africa and 12 tonnes in Brazil. The gap, he argued, stems not from land or rainfall but from productivity gains driven by technology and AI-powered precision farming.
Four Pillars for Africa’s AI Future
Tijani proposed four key pillars to guide Africa’s AI development:
- Balancing sovereignty with shared governance.
- Equipping young people with technical skills.
- Digitising local realities to build relevant datasets.
- Investing collectively in infrastructure such as connectivity, compute power, and clean energy.
“Africa’s young people are our greatest advantage,” he said, citing Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent programme as a model for preparing the workforce for an AI-driven economy.
He also warned that without African-specific datasets—covering language, health, and agriculture—the continent risks becoming dependent on foreign AI models “trained on data that does not reflect us.”
On infrastructure, Tijani stressed that no single country could bear the financial burden alone. “AI depends on three things: connectivity, compute, and clean energy. Today, these remain expensive and unevenly distributed across Africa. We must collaborate on medium and long-term plans that bring down costs and unlock participation for everyone,” he said.
He closed his remarks with a rallying call: “Our children must be able to look back and say: our leaders prepared us, our leaders secured our future, our leaders refused to let Africa be left behind.”
Global and Regional Support
At the same event, Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President of Dubai World Trade Centre and CEO of KAOUN International, emphasised that partnerships between Nigeria and international players could help drive innovation, attract investment, and position Africa as a competitive force in the global tech landscape.
Earlier, Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, delivered the welcome address, calling for unity in Africa’s AI journey. He stressed the importance of shared infrastructure, locally developed algorithms that reflect African values, and strong policy frameworks to make the continent an active player in the AI revolution.
Nigeria’s Growing Role
Nigeria has positioned itself as a continental leader in AI. The country ranks among the top 60 globally in AI development and earlier this year launched its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, developed in partnership with academia and industry. To complement the strategy, the government also established the Nigerian Artificial Intelligence Collective Industry, designed to connect domestic researchers with global experts and foster cross-border collaboration.
The Abuja sessions of GITEX Nigeria will be followed by the Tech Expo & Future Economy Conference (September 3–4) at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre in Lagos, alongside a Startup Festival at the Landmark Centre.
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