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The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has called for a more inclusive approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI), urging global leaders to ensure that emerging technologies empower people to create value rather than merely consume digital solutions.
Abdullahi made the call while participating in a high-level global dialogue on technology, innovation and social business as tools for advancing sustainable and inclusive development.
According to a statement by the Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Hajiya Hadiza Umar, on Tuesday, the session brought together prominent global leaders, including President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Khalilur Rahman; President of Timor-Leste and 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate, José Ramos-Horta; Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dasho Tshering Tobgay; Brazil’s State Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger, Wellington Dias; and Pakistan’s Minister of State and Chairman of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, Bilal Bin Saqib.
Also featured was Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, founder of Grameen Bank and Chair of the Global Committee on Social Business for Sustainable Development Goals.
Abdullahi said the global conversation around AI should move beyond expanding access to technology to ensuring that people have the representation and agency required to shape and benefit from it.
According to him, inclusive AI must reflect the data, languages, cultures, contexts and values of the communities it serves.
“Inclusive AI requires representation and access—and access must mean agency, not just consumption,” he said.
Using agriculture as an example, the NITDA chief said AI could transform the lives of Nigerian farmers by giving them access to digital expertise that could help them interpret weather conditions, understand soil characteristics, identify crop challenges and connect with markets.
He said the ultimate measure of AI's success should be its ability to improve decision-making, productivity, incomes and the wellbeing of families and communities.
“The promise of AI is not that every Nigerian becomes an AI expert. It is that AI can put expertise within the reach of every Nigerian,” Abdullahi said.
He identified four key pillars of Nigeria’s approach to an inclusive AI ecosystem as CONNECT, SKILL, COMPUTE and CREATE.
He highlighted initiatives such as Project BRIDGE for expanded connectivity, DL4ALL, the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiatives aimed at strengthening digital and technical skills.
Abdullahi also stressed the importance of developing sovereign cloud and AI capabilities while creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs and innovators to build sustainable solutions to societal challenges.
On digital sovereignty, he clarified that Nigeria's objective was not technological isolation but the ability to ensure that AI systems understand Nigerian data, contexts and nuances, operate within Nigerian laws and reflect the country's culture and values.
He said Nigeria remained open to international investment, technologies, models and partnerships that could contribute to the development of its digital ecosystem.
The NITDA DG further called for shared responsibility among governments, technology companies and citizens in shaping the future of AI.
He said governments must provide infrastructure, clear policies and regulatory certainty while protecting citizens, while global technology companies should move beyond selling technologies to Africa and instead “build with Africa”.
According to him, this should include investment in computing infrastructure, knowledge transfer, talent development, African datasets and languages, as well as partnerships with local innovators and researchers.
Abdullahi also urged young people to see AI as a tool for enhancing their capabilities and productivity.
He, however, emphasised that human accountability must remain central as AI becomes increasingly integrated into decisions affecting health, livelihoods, rights and public services.
“We can delegate tasks to machines. We cannot delegate accountability,” he said.
He challenged policymakers, technology companies and innovators to consider two fundamental questions when developing AI systems: who is represented in the intelligence being created, and who has the agency to shape and create value from it.
Abdullahi said the ultimate measure of the AI era should be its contribution to human advancement.
“The defining achievement of the AI age should not be that we created machines capable of extraordinary intelligence. It should be that we used that intelligence to unlock extraordinary human possibility; for everyone,” he said.
He reaffirmed NITDA’s commitment to developing an AI ecosystem where representation drives relevance, access creates opportunity and agency enables Nigerians to become active creators in the emerging AI economy.