The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has called for a more inclusive approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI), urging global stakeholders to ensure that the technology expands human possibilities rather than simply increasing access to digital tools.
Abdullahi made the call while joining global leaders and development champions at a high-level dialogue on leveraging technology, innovation and social business to advance sustainable and inclusive development.
The opening session featured the President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman; President of Timor-Leste and 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate, H.E. José Ramos-Horta; Prime Minister of Bhutan, H.E. Dasho Tshering Tobgay; Brazil’s State Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger, H.E. Wellington Dias; and Pakistan’s Minister of State and Chairman of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, H.E. Bilal Bin Saqib, MBE.
The programme also featured Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, founder of Grameen Bank and Chair of the Global Committee on Social Business for Sustainable Development Goals
In his keynote address, Abdullahi urged the global community to move beyond merely expanding access to AI and instead build an AI future anchored on Representation, Access and Agency.
He explained that truly inclusive AI must reflect the data, languages, cultures, contexts and values of the people it is designed to serve, while empowering citizens not only to use AI but also to understand, develop and shape the technology and create value from it.
“Inclusive AI requires representation and access—and access must mean agency, not just consumption,” he said.
Illustrating the potential impact of AI on ordinary citizens, Abdullahi cited the example of a Nigerian farmer who may have limited access to professional agronomists but could have an AI-enabled agronomist on his mobile device to help interpret weather conditions, understand soil characteristics, identify crop challenges and connect with markets.
He said the ultimate value of AI should be measured by its impact on people’s lives through better decisions, increased productivity, higher incomes and stronger families and communities.
“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,” the NITDA DG stated.
Abdullahi identified four key foundations of Nigeria’s approach to an inclusive AI future as CONNECT, SKILL, COMPUTE and CREATE, highlighting initiatives aimed at expanding connectivity, strengthening digital and technical skills, developing sovereign cloud and AI capabilities, and creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs and innovators.
He referenced Project BRIDGE as part of efforts to expand connectivity, while pointing to DL4ALL, 3MTT and TVET as initiatives supporting the development of digital and technical capabilities.
On digital sovereignty, the NITDA boss clarified that Nigeria’s objective was not technological isolation but the ability to ensure that AI systems understand Nigerian data, context and nuances, operate within Nigerian laws and reflect the country’s culture and values.
He, however, stressed that such an approach would remain open to global investment, technologies, models and partnerships.
Abdullahi also called for shared responsibility among governments, technology companies and citizens in shaping the future of AI.
According to him, governments must provide enabling infrastructure, policy clarity and regulatory certainty while protecting citizens, while global technology companies should move beyond simply selling technology to Africa and instead “build with Africa” by investing in computing infrastructure, transferring knowledge, developing talent, supporting African datasets and languages, and partnering with African innovators and researchers.
He urged citizens, particularly young people, to see AI as a tool for augmenting their capabilities and improving productivity.
A major part of his address was the need to preserve human accountability as AI becomes increasingly integrated into decisions affecting health, livelihoods, rights and public services.
“We can delegate tasks to machines. We cannot delegate accountability,” Abdullahi said.
He challenged policymakers, technology companies and innovators to ask two fundamental questions whenever they develop an AI system: “Who is represented in the intelligence we are creating? And who has the agency to shape and create value from that intelligence?”
Concluding his address, the NITDA DG said the defining achievement of the AI era should not merely be the creation of increasingly intelligent machines, but the use of that intelligence to improve human lives.
“The defining achievement of the AI age should not be that we created machines capable of extraordinary intoelligence. It should be that we used that intelligence to unlock extraordinary human possibility; for everyone,” he said.
Through NITDA, Abdullahi reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to building an AI ecosystem where representation creates relevance, access creates opportunity and agency empowers Nigerians to become creators rather than merely consumers of the emerging AI economy.
