Nigeria must align its policy frameworks and infrastructure investments to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and other emerging digital technologies in 2026.

An ICT expert, Jide Awe, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, outlining the possible ICT outlook for 2026 and its implications for Nigeria’s digital transformation.

He said Nigeria was well-positioned to benefit from AI, IoT, and cloud technologies, and leveraging the technologies could address challenges in the financial sector and ensure public service delivery, among other benefits.

“Governance systems will benefit from scalable automation, smarter decision-making, and wider access to digital services, and the digital divide, however, remains a major concern in the absence of deliberate and inclusive policies.

“There is a significant opportunity and growing demand for intelligent IoT applications in Nigeria’s power, agriculture, transportation, and security sectors.

“These gains also increase cybersecurity risks, making strict security systems that do not automatically trust any user or device, along with strong local data protection and privacy measures, increasingly important,’’ he said.

According to Mr Awe, cloud and edge computing are well-suited to Nigeria’s connectivity realities, enabling real-time processing in low-connectivity environments and lowering barriers for startups in agriculture, fintech, education, and health.

He further said that extended reality could be adopted for skills training and infrastructure planning, while cybersecurity could become a national economic priority as digital adoption expands and more critical services move online.

On AI, Mr Awe said it would be the foundation of digital systems, shaping economies, while focus was shifting from simple assistants to autonomous, multi-agent systems that could plan and execute complex workflows across business functions.

“AI is also moving into hardware, edge devices, and wearables, and this will enable faster on-device processing and reduce reliance on cloud connectivity. IoT is evolving from basic connectivity into intelligent, AI-driven systems capable of analysing data and acting autonomously, especially at the edge.

“As billions of devices become essential to daily operations, strong security measures that assume no device is automatically trusted, along with advanced encryption, will be essential. Smart villages, cities, industrial automation, and advanced transport systems will benefit from faster networks, multi-cloud models, and advanced sensors,’’ Mr Awe said.

He also added that cloud computing was becoming more flexible and more convenient for handling sensitive information in compliance with regulations.

On robotics and physical AI, he said they were expanding, hence enabling real-world tasks in the manufacturing, logistics, and services sectors.

According to him, physical AI will move from rigid programming to systems that understand natural language and learn by observing humans, and robotics will improve productivity and safety, enabling 24/7 autonomous operations.

Mr Awe mentioned that XR tools, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and digital twins, are digital tools that optimise operations across different sectors.

“As AI and IoT expand, cybersecurity is shifting toward AI-driven threat detection, automated responses, and a system that assumes no device or user is automatically trusted. This technology, at the same time, creates new risks, including AI-powered attacks, ransomware on critical infrastructure, and privacy breaches.

“AI, IoT, and cloud-edge computing will transform enterprise operations through automation, personalisation, and resilience, and competitive advantage will depend on coordinating AI ecosystems across hybrid and multi-vendor environments,” Mr Awe said.

According to him, responsible innovation will drive efficiency, growth, and new opportunities.

He added that the country could leverage energy-efficient hardware, low-power networks, and low-emission operations, and harness Green IoT to enable real-time monitoring of energy, water, and waste through smart grids, among others.

He stated that unequal access to AI, IoT, and cloud computing would reinforce social and economic inequalities, but technological progress would be meaningful when it was inclusive.

“The outlook for technology is bright; however, Nigeria’s long-term success will depend on sustained infrastructure investment, a reliable power supply, broadband expansion, inclusion and equity, cybersecurity readiness, and inclusive digital education.

“While the technologies are real, governance, investment, leadership commitment, and an innovative mindset among the population must also be equally strong,’’ Mr Awe said.

(NAN)