Nigeria has unveiled a four-pillar framework — Connect, Skill, Compute and Create — aimed at building an inclusive artificial intelligence economy by expanding connectivity, developing digital skills, strengthening computing capacity and enabling Nigerians to create value from AI.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), presented the framework during a high-level global dialogue on technology, innovation and social business. He said Nigeria’s AI strategy must move beyond access to tools to building the infrastructure, talent and local capacity needed for meaningful participation.
Under Connect, the government is expanding digital infrastructure through initiatives including Project BRIDGE, which supports broadband and fibre development. Skill focuses on building human capacity through programmes such as DI4ALL, 3MTT and technical and vocational education and training.
The Compute pillar addresses the infrastructure needed to develop and operate advanced AI systems, with Abdullahi linking it to efforts to strengthen sovereign cloud and AI capabilities. Create, the fourth pillar, seeks to support entrepreneurs and innovators in developing commercially sustainable solutions to local challenges.
Abdullahi said the success of AI adoption should not be measured by the number of people using AI tools, but by whether the technology improves lives. He cited farmers as an example, saying AI could give them access to agricultural expertise by helping interpret weather and soil conditions, identify crop problems and connect them to markets.
He also stressed digital sovereignty while cautioning against technological isolation, urging global technology companies to “build with Africa” by investing in computing infrastructure, transferring knowledge, developing African talent, supporting local datasets and languages, and partnering with local innovators and researchers.