President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed Nigeria’s ambition to spearhead artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in Africa, emphasizing the country’s readiness to collaborate with Google to achieve this goal.
Tinubu shared details of his engagement with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, on his verified X handle, following their meeting in France.
According to the President, their discussion focused on positioning Nigeria as a leader in AI and digital transformation.
“Nigeria is set to lead in AI and technology—this is just the beginning of an exciting journey,” Tinubu stated.
He highlighted five key areas of collaboration with Google: expanding scalable cloud infrastructure, equipping the workforce with future-ready skills, fostering AI research and innovation, driving cloud adoption, and solidifying Nigeria’s position as a global tech hub.
The President noted that Nigeria is already making strides in AI, citing Awarri Technologies as a promising player in the space. He revealed that the Federal Government is working with Awarri to develop critical AI software tailored to Nigeria’s needs.
Tinubu stressed that the proposed partnership aligns with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes economic diversification through industrialization, digitization, and innovation.
“This initiative will empower businesses, create new opportunities, and firmly establish Nigeria as a key player in the global digital economy,” he added, noting that the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy would oversee the strategy while NITDA would drive its implementation.
Confirming the discussion, Pichai posted on X: “Great meeting with President Tinubu @officialABAT. We talked about Nigeria’s immense AI potential and ways to partner on AI skills development, innovation, and supporting Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has underscored the importance of AI in boosting key sectors like agriculture, education, and healthcare. Speaking ahead of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Tijani emphasized that AI could enhance productivity while creating new job opportunities in Nigeria’s youthful labor market.
He reassured that while automation poses job risks in advanced economies, Nigeria’s workforce—where the average age is 16.9 years—stands to benefit from AI-driven growth. “Traditional jobs won’t disappear anytime soon, but AI presents a major opportunity to drive economic expansion,” Tijani said.
As Nigeria positions itself at the forefront of Africa’s AI revolution, the government is betting on strategic partnerships to accelerate digital transformation and unlock new opportunities for its tech ecosystem.
