Microsoft Corporation has urged Nigeria to move beyond the development of artificial intelligence (AI) policies and focus on deploying the technology in ways that create measurable benefits for government, businesses and citizens.
The call was made by the Director of Government Affairs for West Africa at Microsoft, Mrs Nonye Ujam, at the AI Summit Nigeria held in Abuja on Tuesday.
The summit, organised by Microsoft in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and , was themed: “From Policy to Progress: Accelerating Responsible AI Adoption for Nigeria’s Digital Decade.”
Ujam said Nigeria had taken important steps towards becoming a key player in the global AI ecosystem through initiatives such as the National AI Strategy, data governance frameworks and regulatory reforms.
She, however, stressed that the next phase must focus on implementation, with emphasis on building systems, infrastructure and institutional capacity required to scale AI adoption.
“As the focus shifts from strategy to implementation, the priority is to translate ambition into impact by operationalising AI in ways that deliver real and measurable outcomes,” she said.
According to her, responsible AI adoption must be built around reliability, safety, fairness, privacy, security, inclusiveness, transparency and accountability to earn public trust.
She noted that AI presents Nigeria with an opportunity to strengthen national capabilities, improve public service delivery, expand access to knowledge and boost productivity across sectors.
Ujam added that trusted AI solutions must reflect local realities, align with national priorities and be developed through collaboration between government, industry and other stakeholders.
Nigeria must create, not just consume AI — NITDA
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Emmanuel Edet, said artificial intelligence had become a general-purpose technology capable of transforming virtually every sector of the economy.
Inuwa said Nigeria possesses the human capital and innovation potential needed to lead Africa’s AI advancement but warned that public trust, transparency and accountability would determine the sustainability of AI adoption.
“Without public trust, AI adoption will be stalled. Without accountability, innovation will not scale sustainably, and without transparency, citizens will lose confidence in the systems designed to serve them,” he said.
He emphasised the need for Nigeria to pursue digital sovereignty by developing local AI capabilities rather than depending solely on technologies created outside the country.
“We must become creators of intelligence rooted in our realities and responsive to our aspirations. We must build local talent, strengthen research ecosystems and create an enabling environment where Nigerian and African solutions can thrive,” he added.
He said Africa must not merely witness the future of AI but actively shape it.
The summit brought together stakeholders from government agencies and the private sector, including representatives from the Nigeria Customs Service, National Identity Management Commission and Galaxy Backbone, to discuss strategies for expanding responsible AI adoption in Nigeria.
Microsoft has continued to support Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts, including digital skills development programmes that have equipped millions of Nigerians with technology skills as part of efforts to grow the country’s digital economy.