The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has called for a more inclusive approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI), urging the global technology community to ensure that Africans are not merely consumers but active creators of the emerging AI economy.
Abdullahi made the call while participating in a high-level global dialogue on leveraging technology, innovation and social business to advance sustainable and inclusive development.
The opening session featured the President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr Khalilur Rahman; President of Timor-Leste and 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate, José Ramos-Horta; Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dasho Tshering Tobgay; Brazil’s State Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger, Wellington Dias; and Pakistan’s Minister of State and Chairman of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, Bilal Bin Saqib.
Also featured was Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, founder of Grameen Bank and Chairman of the Global Committee on Social Business for Sustainable Development Goals.
In his keynote address, the NITDA DG said the global conversation on AI should move beyond expanding access to technology to building an AI future founded on representation, access and agency.
He said inclusive AI must reflect the data, languages, cultures, contexts and values of the people it is designed to serve, while empowering citizens to understand, develop and shape AI technologies.
“Inclusive AI requires representation and access — and access must mean agency, not just consumption,” he said.
Abdullahi illustrated the potential of AI with the example of a Nigerian farmer who, despite having limited access to agricultural experts, could use an AI-enabled agronomist to understand weather conditions and soil quality, identify crop challenges and connect with markets.
According to him, the real value of AI should be measured by its ability to improve decision-making, productivity, incomes and the wellbeing of families and communities.
“The promise of AI is not that every Nigerian becomes an AI expert. It is that AI can put expertise within the reach of every Nigerian,” he said.
The NITDA boss identified four key foundations of Nigeria’s inclusive AI strategy as CONNECT, SKILL, COMPUTE and CREATE.
He cited initiatives including Project BRIDGE, DL4ALL, 3MTT and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), alongside efforts to strengthen sovereign cloud and AI capabilities and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to develop solutions to societal challenges.
On digital sovereignty, Abdullahi said Nigeria’s objective was not technological isolation, but the ability to ensure that AI systems understand Nigerian data, contexts and nuances, operate within Nigerian laws and reflect the country’s culture and values.
He, however, stressed that Nigeria remained open to global investment, technology models and international partnerships.
Abdullahi also called for shared responsibility among governments, technology companies and citizens in shaping the AI future.
He said governments must provide infrastructure, policy clarity and regulatory certainty while protecting citizens, while global technology companies should move beyond selling technology to Africa and instead “build with Africa.”
According to him, such collaboration should include investment in computing infrastructure, knowledge transfer, talent development, African datasets and languages, as well as partnerships with African innovators and researchers.
He urged young people to see AI as a tool for enhancing their capabilities and productivity rather than merely as a technology to be consumed.
The NITDA DG also emphasised the need to preserve human accountability as AI becomes increasingly integrated into decisions affecting healthcare, livelihoods, rights and public services.
“We can delegate tasks to machines. We cannot delegate accountability,” he said.
Abdullahi challenged policymakers, technology companies and innovators to consider two questions when developing AI systems: “Who is represented in the intelligence we are creating? And who has the agency to shape and create value from that intelligence?”
He said Nigeria’s vision for the AI era was centred not only on technological advancement but on using technology to expand human potential.
“The defining achievement of the AI age should not be that we created machines capable of extraordinary intelligence. It should be that we used that intelligence to unlock extraordinary human possibility; for everyone,” he said.
He added that through NITDA, Nigeria remained committed to building an AI ecosystem where representation creates relevance, access creates opportunity and agency empowers Nigerians to become creators rather than mere consumers of the AI economy.
