Nigeria has taken a significant step toward strengthening its technological future with the establishment of its first National Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence, aimed at expanding local research capacity, developing talent and deepening the country’s role in global artificial intelligence development.
The centre is expected to serve as a national platform for advanced research, skills development, innovation and policy engagement, as Nigeria positions itself to move beyond consuming artificial intelligence technologies to shaping how they are designed and governed.
The initiative reflects broader ambitions to ensure that artificial intelligence systems developed or deployed in Nigeria reflect the country’s realities, including its languages, cultures, economic structures and social contexts, rather than relying solely on foreign-trained models.
The centre was unveiled by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, during the University of Jos’ 50th convocation ceremony, with federal government support provided through the ministry.
Tijani said the project underscores Nigeria’s resolve not to remain a passive participant in global artificial intelligence development, stressing that a country with more than 240 million people must play an active role in shaping emerging AI systems and governance frameworks.
“AI is built on numbers, and Nigeria has the numbers. We are too big a country not to participate meaningfully in artificial intelligence,” he said, citing projections that Nigeria’s population could approach 500 million within two decades.
He added that universities must lead foundational research by developing locally relevant datasets and contextual intelligence, noting that long-term academic investment had driven artificial intelligence progress in countries such as France and the United States.
The University of Jos was selected as host as part of a strategy to empower Nigerian universities to function as innovation hubs, with Tijani, an alumnus of the institution, urging it to actively shape Nigeria’s digital future rather than observe it.
The National AI Centre of Excellence is expected to support talent development, research collaboration and policy advisory work as Nigeria expands its digital economy agenda in 2026 and beyond, amid intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence.
