The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has highlighted how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform agriculture, finance, logistics, and education.
While calling African countries to adopt AI as a key enabler of productivity, competitiveness, and employment creation, the Minister insisted that many African economies still depend on guesswork and outdated practices.
Speaking 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. He noted that countries already leveraging AI are witnessing exponential gains across these sectors.
“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,” the Minister said.
Drawing from recent visits to Brazil and South Africa, Tijani cited examples of AI-driven precision agriculture. In these countries, 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 sharp contrast, Nigerian farmers still average tonnes of maize per hectare compared to Brazil’s tonnes.
“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 said, urging stakeholders to move beyond discussions and commit to actionable plans.
Four Priorities for Africa’s AI Journey
To guide the continent’s AI adoption, the Minister outlined four critical priorities:
- Balancing Sovereignty with Collaboration: Developing national AI strategies while pursuing shared standards to avoid fragmentation.
- Leveraging Africa’s Youthful Population: Equipping young people with future-ready skills through initiatives such as the “3 Million Technical Talent”
- Digitising African Realities: Creating relevant datasets in agriculture, health, and education to ensure AI solutions reflect local needs.
- Investing in Infrastructure: Ensuring affordable connectivity and clean energy as the foundation for AI-driven development.
Tijani stressed that AI should be seen as an opportunity for Africa to become a producer, not merely a consumer, of innovation.
NITDA DG Calls for Collaboration
Similarly, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, called on African nations to collaborate in building shared AI infrastructure to avoid being left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Inuwa cautioned that while 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. “Any country left behind in this AI revolution risks catastrophe, while those who lead will shape the world,” he said.
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 also highlighted the need for local Large Language Models (LLMs) to ensure African cultures and values are represented in global AI systems.
DWTC Affirms Commitment to Nigeria
Wrapping up the Abuja 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 million today to million by 2050—makes it a frontier of digital opportunity.
“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,” LohMirmand said.
She reaffirmed DWTC’s commitment to Africa, noting that GITEX Nigeria would provide a strong platform for start-ups, SMEs, and innovators to access global partnerships and compete on an international scale.