The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has called for a shift in the global approach to artificial intelligence, saying access to AI should give people the power to understand, influence and create value from the technology.
Abdullahi made the call during a high-level global dialogue on technology, innovation and social business for sustainable and inclusive development, which brought together political leaders, development experts and technology stakeholders.
Among those who participated in the session were the President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr Khalilur Rahman; Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta; Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay; Brazil’s State Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger, Wellington Dias; Pakistan’s Minister of State and Chairman of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, Bilal Bin Saqib; and Nobel Peace Laureate and Grameen Bank founder, Professor Muhammad Yunus.
In his keynote address, the NITDA chief said discussions about inclusive AI should extend beyond simply connecting people to technology.
According to him, meaningful inclusion requires ensuring that people are represented in the systems being developed and have sufficient agency to influence how those systems work and benefit from them.
“Inclusive AI requires representation and access, and access must mean agency, not just consumption,” Abdullahi said.
He illustrated the potential of AI through agriculture, explaining that the technology could provide Nigerian farmers with access to expertise on weather conditions, soil quality, crop diseases and market opportunities that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.
“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,” he said.
Abdullahi outlined four pillars underpinning Nigeria’s approach to inclusive AI development: Connect, Skill, Compute and Create.
He said the strategy encompasses expanding digital connectivity, strengthening technical and digital skills, developing sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure, and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to build solutions to societal challenges.
On digital sovereignty, Abdullahi stressed that Nigeria’s objective was not technological isolation but the development of domestic capacity to ensure AI systems can properly understand Nigerian data, contexts and cultural nuances while complying with local laws.
He also called for stronger collaboration among governments, technology companies and citizens. While governments should provide infrastructure, policy clarity and regulatory certainty, he said technology companies should deepen their investment in Africa by supporting local computing infrastructure, knowledge transfer, talent development, datasets, languages and researchers.
The NITDA DG further stressed the importance of accountability as AI becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare, livelihoods, public services and other areas affecting citizens.
“We can delegate tasks to machines. We cannot delegate accountability,” he said.
Abdullahi said Nigeria’s AI ambitions should ultimately be judged by their impact on human lives rather than technological advancement alone.
He said the country remained committed, through NITDA, to building an AI ecosystem where representation improves relevance, access creates opportunities and agency enables Nigerians to participate as creators rather than remain mere consumers of AI.
