Nigeria is taking a decisive step toward shaping its technological future with the announcement of its first National Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence, to be hosted at the University of Jos. Revealed by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, during the institution’s 50th convocation ceremony, the initiative signals a strategic move to position the country as a serious contributor in the rapidly evolving global AI landscape.
The proposed centre is expected to serve as a national nucleus for advanced research, skills development, innovation, and policy dialogue. Beyond infrastructure, its mission is to cultivate locally grounded intelligence systems built on Nigerian data, languages, and social contexts. Tijani stressed that global AI leaders did not emerge through computing power alone, but through long-term academic investment in machine learning research. Nigeria, he argued, must follow the same path one rooted in knowledge creation rather than consumption.
With a population exceeding 200 million and projected growth in the coming decades, Nigeria’s scale makes passive participation in AI untenable. The minister emphasized that the country must shape how AI tools are built, governed, and deployed, ensuring that they reflect local realities and safeguard national interests. The centre is expected to bring together researchers, students, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to design solutions uniquely tailored to Nigeria’s economic and social priorities.
Though detailed timelines and funding structures are yet to be disclosed, the announcement marks a shift toward domestically led innovation rather than reliance on imported technologies. By anchoring AI development within a university environment, the federal government underscores the central role of higher education in driving the next wave of digital transformation. The National AI Centre of Excellence stands poised to influence policy, stimulate industry collaboration, and build the skilled workforce required for Nigeria’s emerging position in the global AI economy.
