By Saminu Ibrahim
Nigeria is positioning itself to become a globally competitive destination for digital services, with the Federal Government highlighting artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and skilled manpower as key drivers of the ambition.
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, stated this during the “Hire from Nigeria” session organised by the Nigeria Economic and Trade Advancement Programme (NATEP) on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Abdullahi participated in the strategic session alongside the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, and the Minister of Education, Dr Moruf Alausa.
The discussion focused on impact sourcing, global trade, skills development and inclusive job creation, with emphasis on Nigeria’s capacity to provide technology-enabled services to the global market.
Abdullahi said Nigeria’s competitive advantage should extend beyond traditional outsourcing, stressing that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence presents an opportunity for the country to develop a distinctive position in AI-augmented and IT-enabled services.
He said Nigerians must be equipped not only to use emerging technologies but also to understand, develop and deploy them to create economic value.
The NITDA boss also highlighted Nigeria’s evolving frameworks for data protection, digital identity, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure assurance, data classification, sovereign cloud and software quality assurance.
According to him, trust, security and regulatory certainty remain critical to attracting international businesses and establishing Nigeria as a reliable destination for digital services.
He referenced Project BRIDGE, which targets the deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure, as well as the Cloud First Policy and other initiatives aimed at encouraging private-sector investment in computing infrastructure and artificial intelligence factories.
Abdullahi further stressed the need for greater representation in the global AI economy, warning that communities and economies excluded from datasets used to develop intelligent systems could become underrepresented in technologies that will shape the future.
He said initiatives including the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy were laying the foundation for indigenous AI capabilities while connecting Nigeria’s talent and innovation ecosystem to opportunities in the global digital economy.
He said Nigeria’s opportunity was no longer limited to supplying talent to the world, but to equipping its workforce with AI capabilities, trusted digital infrastructure and globally competitive skills to deliver higher-value services internationally.
