The director-general (D-G) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, says the country has strategically positioned itself to lead Africa’s digital transformation.

Mr Abdullahi said this in Washington on Friday on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF/World Bank Group Annual Meetings.

He said that Nigeria was taking the lead through the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), renewable energy and inclusive technological innovation.

He said that the federal government was committed to driving rural prosperity by leveraging technology and renewable energy as catalysts for national growth.

“Renewable energy is not the end goal; it is an enabler, a catalyst for everything else.

“When there is power, connectivity follows, and when connectivity arrives, it ignites every other transformation,” Mr Abdullahi said.

The D-G said that the focus of the federal government was not just on addressing current challenges in energy access but also on shaping the country’s technological future through AI and other emerging technologies.

“AI is going to be more powerful than electricity. It will transform everything we do, from agriculture to finance, education and health,” he said.

Mr Abdullahi said that NITDA had established the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

He said that the agency also developed a National AI Strategy aimed at building sustainable, responsible and inclusive AI systems that foster national development.

He said that the vision was to create a digitally empowered nation that drives inclusive economic growth through innovation.

The D-G said that NITDA’s strategic roadmap and action plan were anchored on eight pillars, including digital literacy, innovation, infrastructure, and research ecosystems.

According to him, they will focus on technologies such as AI, blockchain, robotics, additive manufacturing, Internet of Things (IoT), and unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

He said that NITDA had built over 220 Digital Economy Centres across the country since 2023, in its efforts to bridge the digital divide

According to him, there are plans to reach 500 centres by 2027, including at least one in each local government under the project 774 initiative.

He said that digital literacy was being integrated into the formal education curriculum, with approval from the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC), making it a mandatory general studies subject.

The D-G said that there were several ongoing initiatives targeting youth and children, such as Idea Hatch and Ignite, which empower young innovators, especially women, to transform ideas into viable products.

Mr Abdullahi said that NITDA was in partnerships with global tech firms like Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Huawei, and JICA, GIZ, EU, ITU, USAID, and FCDO, which are instrumental in expanding Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.

The D-G said that the challenges in the digital economy included infrastructure deficits, access to patient capital and talent gaps.

He said that they were key barriers, but assured that government policies, including the Startup Act, the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Bank, and the IDICE programme, were addressing them.

He also said that trust between the government and private sector was being rebuilt through co-creation and public-private partnerships.

Mr Abdullahi said that co-creation reflected the President Bola Tinubu’s vision of a private sector-led but government-enabled economy.

“For me, leadership is about trust. We are co-creating policies with the ecosystem because trust makes everything simpler,” he said.  

(NAN)