By James Ishaku
The Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has called on African countries to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) as a key enabler of productivity, competitiveness and employment creation.
At the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) Nigeria 2025 in Abuja, Tijani cautioned that Africa could be left behind if it does not fast-track the adoption of artificial intelligence across key sectors of the economy.
Many African economies still depend on guesswork and outdated practices. Other countries leveraging AI are witnessing exponential gains in agriculture, finance, logistics and education. “AI will widen the productivity gap between nations. Countries that are already ahead will move even faster, while those still catching up will find it even more difficult,”.
AI-driven precision agriculture, where farmers use soil sensors, predictive analytics, drones and satellite imaging to improve yields and cut input costs by as much as 95 per cent. By contrast, Nigerian farmers still average 2.5 tonnes of maize per hectare compared to Brazil’s 10–12 tonnes. Tijani emphasized from his recent visits to Brazil and South Africa.
The Minister outlined four priorities: To guide Africa’s AI journey, Firstly, balancing sovereignty with collaboration—developing national AI strategies while pursuing shared standards to avoid fragmentation. Secondly, leveraging Africa’s youthful population—equipping young people with future-ready skills through initiatives such as the “3 Million Technical Talent” programme. Thirdly, digitizing African realities—creating relevant datasets in agriculture, health and education to ensure AI solutions reflect local needs. And lastly, investing in infrastructure—ensuring affordable connectivity and clean energy as the foundation for AI-driven development.
AI should be seen as an opportunity for Africa to become a producer, not merely a consumer, of innovation. “If we cannot close this gap, Africa risks becoming a continent that imports food, imports services and imports innovation. That is not the Africa we want,” he urged stakeholders to move beyond discussions and commit to actionable plans, Tijani said.
Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, called on African nations to collaborate in building shared AI infrastructure to avoid being left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Africa played only a peripheral role in past industrial revolutions, the rise of artificial intelligence presents the continent with a unique opportunity to take the lead, while delivering his speech at the summit.
Citing research by Epoch AI, Inuwa noted that automation could increase global economic growth by 20 per cent, potentially doubling the world economy within five years. He outlined four areas for Africa’s AI capacity-building: Human Capital—harnessing the continent’s youthful and digitally native population through programmes like Nigeria’s 3 Million Tech Talent and Digital Literacy for All.
“Any country left behind in this AI revolution risks catastrophe, while those who lead shape the world,” Infrastructure—expanding connectivity, building data centres and investing in shared computing power to process African data locally, he said.
Policy and Legal Frameworks—developing national AI strategies, with Nigeria already taking the lead under Tijani’s guidance. Enabling Ecosystem—supporting start-ups, AI research and partnerships with global tech companies, including funding for 45 Nigerian AI-focused start-ups.
Inuwa also highlighted the need for local large language models (LLMs) to ensure African cultures and values are represented in global AI systems.
At the Abuja, wrap-up summit, Executive Vice President of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), Trixie LohMirmand, called for deeper global collaboration to ensure Nigeria secures a central place in the AI economy. She stressed that Nigeria’s growing population—projected to rise from 230 million today to 400 million by 2050—makes it a frontier of digital opportunity.
LohMirmand reaffirmed DWTC’s commitment to Africa, GITEX Nigeria would provide a strong platform for start-ups, SMEs and innovators to access global partnerships and compete on an international scale.
“Nigeria is not defined by the headlines or its current challenges, but by the scale of opportunities of tomorrow. Those who stay the course are the future of Africa,” She highlighted the role of GITEX as a global ecosystem of technology stakeholders, investors and innovators, stressing that Nigeria must “claim its seat at the global digital table.” LohMirmand said.
