Nigeria sees artificial intelligence (AI) as offering the country a chance to raise productivity in several key sectors needed for the nation’s goal of becoming a $1‑trillion economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy said on Monday.
In sectors key straddling agriculture, education and healthcare, Dr Tijani disclosed Nigeria’s plans to leverage AI to drive economic competitiveness while speaking to BBC World Newsday on Monday ahead of the AI Action Summit in Paris.
Dr. Tijani says that while many developed countries worry about job losses from automation, Nigeria’s young population—with an average age of 16.9 years—presents a chance to create new job opportunities.
Dr. Tijani says that while many developed countries worry about job losses from automation, Nigeria’s young population—with an average age of 16.9 years—presents a chance to create new job opportunities.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
Minister: Nigeria’s National AI Strategy shapes nation’s approach to technology
According to Nigeria’s Digital Economy Minister, AI could “lower the cost of healthcare” and “improve the quality of education” while generating new tech-focused jobs.
He acknowledges that traditional roles may persist longer in Nigeria than in advanced economies.
“The cost in terms of job loss is going to be extremely minimal. The traditional jobs won’t go away in our country anytime soon,” Tijani says. “But the opportunity that we have is that we can actually empower growth through the use of artificial intelligence.“
According to him, “also bear in mind that the future of the global workforce is actually in countries like Nigeria.
“Artificial intelligence is a phenomenon that certainly as leaders we should pay strong attention to,” Dr. Tijani adds. “For countries like ours, it’s a unique opportunity to truly raise the level of productivity across key sectors.”
He points out that Nigeria’s national AI strategy was built with input from around 100 experts from the Nigerian diaspora, who met in Abuja last year to shape the country’s approach to technology.
He explains that the strategy focuses on three main areas: developing local talent, modernising computing infrastructure, and converting Nigeria’s abundant natural gas into a cleaner energy source for powering data centres.
“I think it’s about being innovative, finding parts that are unique to us as a nation, and using the resources that we have really smartly to get it done,” the Minister says. “And it starts with the people, and that’s where our focus has been on building the ecosystem. We’re probably one of the few countries in the world that developed its AI strategy by bringing people of Nigerian descent from all over the world.”
He explains that the strategy focuses on three main areas: developing local talent, modernising computing infrastructure, and converting Nigeria’s abundant natural gas into a cleaner energy source for powering data centres.
“I think we need to start to look for a cleaner form of energy. And if you look at Nigeria’s transition energy, which is gas, which we have in abundant quantity, which we’re currently not even making the most of, it’s about investing in converting that to be able to power a data center,” Dr. Tijani says.
“We have a good body of water, so that’s not going to be our biggest challenge. So I think the barrier is us being innovative. I don’t think the resources to make it work is our challenge.
“I think it’s about being innovative, finding parts that are unique to us as a nation, and using the resources that we have really smartly to get it done. And it starts with the people, and that’s where our focus has been on building the ecosystem.”
The AI Action Summit, starting Monday in Paris, focuses on global AI governance and ethics. Dr. Tijani will join delegates from France, the U.S., and other countries who have announced major AI infrastructure investments.
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