Nigerian remains committed to responsible, inclusive AI systems –NITDA

*The Federal Government of Nigeria reaffirms its commitment to building a responsible, inclusive, and sovereign Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem while transitioning from being a passive consumer of AI to an architect, builder of indigenous AI systems

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The Federal Government of Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to building a responsible, inclusive, and sovereign artificial intelligence ecosystem.

ConsumerConnect reports the Nigerian Government said the renewed commitment to this objective would enable the country to transition from being a passive consumer of AI technologies to an architect and builder of indigenous AI systems.

Inuwa: Nigeria can builder, owner of AI systems

Dr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of NITDA, stated this in his virtual address at the InnovateAI Conference held in Lagos.

The Information Technology (IT) sector regulatory agency also disclosed the conference attracted policymakers, technology leaders, innovators, and stakeholders to discuss the future of Artificial Intelligence and its role in driving Nigeria’s digital economy and national development agenda.

Inuwa also outlined the West African country’s ambition to transition from being a consumer of Artificial Intelligence technologies to becoming a builder and owner of AI systems that reflect national values and priorities, in line with the National AI Strategy.

He stated: “Our goal is not just to use AI, but to architect and build our own AI systems in Nigeria.”

Inuwa equally emphasised that the country must take ownership of its AI future.

According to him, Nigeria’s approach to Artificial Intelligence extends beyond innovation to include governance, infrastructure, data sovereignty, and policy evolution.

“Responsible AI is never a finished job; it is an iterative journey. Our policies must evolve as the technology evolves, and we must avoid frozen laws by adopting living policies that adapt over time,” said the Director-General of NITDA.

Inuwa further referenced the implementation of the Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill as a key mechanism for generating insights that would help refine AI regulations and governance frameworks.

He, however, highlighted the challenge of data representation in global AI systems.

Most models are trained on non-African datasets, which often results in bias against local dialects, cultures, and demographics, said he.

Inuwa explained: “If a model shows bias against a local dialect or demographic, we cannot just patch it.

“We must reinvest in infrastructure to retrain it with inclusive and representative local datasets.”

According to him, building national AI infrastructure is critical to achieving data sovereignty and ensuring that Nigeria is not merely an end user of foreign AI systems.

The NITDA Chief mentioned strategic partnerships with global technology companies and hyperscalers to build AI infrastructure in Nigeria while aligning with local values and national priorities.

Inuwa asserted: “The world today is a global village. We need to work with global players, but they must understand our local nuances and help us build the infrastructure to retrain and develop AI models that reflect our context.”

He as well explained that adopting a comprehensive AI lifecycle approach, from responsible data collection and governance to deployment and continuous feedback, would enable Nigeria to move from reacting to AI developments to proactively designing indigenous AI systems.

He also said: “Without understanding how AI models are trained, how decisions are made, and how models are retrained, it will be difficult to build a responsible and trustworthy AI system.”

He reaffirmed that the Nigerian Government is intentional about promoting responsible AI, and is working closely with the technology ecosystem to co-design national AI guardrails.

Inuwa described platforms, such as the InnovateAI Conference, and other national AI dialogues as critical to shaping Nigeria’s AI future.

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