Tinubu meets Google and wants Nigeria to drive Africa's AI evolution.

 

Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi (left); Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani; Chief Executive Officer, Google/Alphabet, Sundar Pichai; President Bola Tinubu; Senior Vice President for Research, Technology and Society, James Manyika and Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Google, Alex Okosi when the Google team met with the President in Paris, France, yesterday.

The need for Nigeria to lead artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in Africa has been stressed by President Bola Tinubu and he is prepared to collaborate with Google to achieve this goal.

Yesterday, Tinubu revealed details of his meeting with Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google and Alphabet, in France in the Verified X handle that he revealed on his X handle. According to the President, the engagement with the Google CEO was designed to enhance Nigeria's role in AI and digital innovation.

“Nigeria is poised to take the lead in AI and technology—this is merely the start of an exciting journey.

“We are exploring partnership opportunities with Google, which will focus on five key areas: enhancing scalable cloud infrastructure, equipping our workforce with essential skills for the future, promoting AI innovation and research, driving cloud adoption, and elevating Nigeria’s standing in the global tech landscape as a hub for innovation and AI transition,” the President posted. He pointed out that Nigeria already has promising prospects in the AI area, such as Awarri Technologies.

He stated that the Federal Government is currently working with Awarri Technologies to develop vital AI software infrastructure that will meet the needs of the Nigerian market.

Tinubu stated that the partnership discussion with Google was in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his government, which prioritizes economic diversification through industrialization, digitization, and innovation.

“This will empower businesses, create new opportunities, and establish Nigeria as a significant player in the global digital economy,” the president stated. He added that the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy would provide strategic oversight while NITDA would spearhead the implementation.

The Google CEO also confirmed the interaction with Nigeria's President when he posted on X, saying: 'It was a great meeting with President Tinubu @officialABAT.' Our discussion revolved around the significant potential of AI in Nigeria, and how we can collaborate to expand AI skills, facilitate innovation, and aid Nigeria's growing tech ecosystem.

Recall that the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, had emphasised the importance of deploying (AI) across all the sectors of the economy.

Tijani in an interview ahead of the AI Action Summit in Paris, France said AI offers the country a chance to raise productivity in several key sectors of the economy, including agriculture, education and healthcare, among others.

According to him, many developed countries are worried about job losses from automation. However, Nigeria's young population with an average age of 16.9 years presents a chance to create new job opportunities.

According to him, AI can decrease the cost of healthcare and enhance the quality of education while creating new tech-related jobs. While acknowledging that traditional roles may persist longer in Nigeria than in advanced economies, Tijani said: 'The cost in terms of job loss is going to be extremely minimal.' The traditional jobs in our country will not disappear anytime soon.

But the opportunity that we have is that we can actually promote growth through the use of AI. It's important to remember that the future of the global workforce is really in countries like Nigeria.