The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, has reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) for inclusive growth and national development. He made this known at the Visioning Workshop of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub, hosted by the Lagos Business School with the Gates Foundation as a core partner.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders from government, academia, industry, and development sectors to co-create a strategic roadmap for AI in Nigeria, focusing on deploying technology to tackle pressing social and institutional challenges.
In his remarks, Inuwa stressed that AI is no longer a futuristic concept but a present-day force already transforming industries worldwide. He called for the democratisation of access, noting that innovations must move from research labs into communities to solve local problems and improve livelihoods.
The DG introduced NITDA’s AI Transformation Roadmap, which outlines how AI can be deployed for smarter regulation and dynamic policy development. According to him, training AI tools on decades-old legal frameworks will help policymakers reduce duplication and create regulations with greater precision and efficiency.
“AI should serve as a thought partner, helping leaders research, plan, and execute faster and better across all sectors,” he stated.
While affirming the Federal Government’s commitment to fostering an enabling environment for AI innovation, Inuwa urged stakeholders to collaborate in building inclusive, AI-driven solutions for healthcare, agriculture, and education—particularly in underserved communities. He linked this vision to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, underscoring AI’s role as a catalyst for national transformation.
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