The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has warned that Nigeria risks allowing external actors to manipulate critical aspects of its economy and society if it fails to develop control over Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and infrastructure.
Inuwa raised the concern at the opening of the 2026 Gulf Information Technology and Exhibition (GITEX) Nigeria, which commenced in Abuja, where he called on Nigeria to prioritise AI sovereignty as part of efforts to safeguard the country’s economy, citizens and national security.
He said AI sovereignty goes beyond geopolitics and requires Nigeria to build the capacity for digital self-determination across the entire technology stack.
“We need to look at it end-to-end, the entire technology stack, not just the AI itself,” he said.
According to Inuwa, connectivity, data centres and cloud infrastructure are critical to building Nigeria’s national AI capacity.
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The NITDA chief highlighted the recent signing of regulatory instruments on cloud and data sovereignty as important steps towards encouraging data centre development and strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure.
He also stressed the need for Nigeria to develop greater ownership of AI technologies, algorithms and data, noting that strong data sovereignty and governance would be essential to building AI models that effectively serve Nigerians.
Inuwa raised concerns about operational sovereignty, particularly over who controls AI systems deployed in critical sectors such as finance, healthcare and education and whether such systems are subject to Nigerian laws.
“If we don’t have control over it, whoever controls that AI can manipulate us, can control everything we do,” he warned.
He said NITDA’s efforts under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Nigeria First Policy are anchored on digital sovereignty, data sovereignty, cloud sovereignty and AI sovereignty.
According to him, GITEX Nigeria 2026 provides an important platform for Nigeria and other African countries to shape discussions around AI capacity, innovation and technological sovereignty.
“GITEX Nigeria 2026 should help us answer: What are we doing as a nation? What are we doing as a continent in terms of building our AI capacity and sovereignty?” he stated.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X