Abuja (Nigeria): The Federal Government has called on African countries to build on shared infrastructure to harness the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era.
Malam Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), made the call at the opening ceremony of the Gulf Information Technology Conference and Exhibition (GITEX) Africa in Abuja.
The theme of the four-day event is: “Building Continental Digital Foundations for Equitable AI Development.”
Inuwa said that for African countries to lead in the AI revolution, they would need to build capabilities in proper frameworks, develop infrastructure, and build human capital.
“We need to look at human capital development. Africa has the talent, and we have a digital native population; we can position ourselves to lead in this revolution.
“The 4IR is about technology, and it is about talent because talented people make technology better.
“We need to see how we can collaborate among nations to learn from each other and build,” he said.
Inuwa said that Nigeria had the Talent Acceleration Programme, the Digital Literacy for All Programme, and other programmes to leverage the revolution.
According to him, the second capability that should be looked at is the infrastructure.
“Under the infrastructure, we need to look at the connectivity and data storage, among other issues,” he said.
The D-G stated that there was no initiative driving the development of shared infrastructure in Africa, noting that collaboration would ensure Africa becomes part of the AI revolution.
“This is not only the government’s responsibility; we need to work together with the government and the private sector to build it together.
“The third capability is about building policies, building an enabling environment because, unlike previous industrial revolutions where Africa was negatively impacted, we can not afford to lose out this time.
“This is a revolution that will lead to exponential growth. All African countries, industry players, government and academia need to work together on how we can build a shared infrastructure for Africa so we can benefit from AI transformation,” he said.
Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated that the state government is making every effort to make Lagos the most secure and attractive destination for all innovators in Africa.
“We are looking at digitalised infrastructure expansion and we are aggressively expanding rural mass penetration by laying fibre optics cables all around the sea,” he said.
Mrs Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President of the Dubai Trade Centre, said that Nigeria had been involved in numerous digital activities related to AI lately, hence the hosting of GITEX Africa in the country.
“Underpinned by the overarching national AI strategy that was only launched last year with a five-year roadmap, it is clearly positioning Nigeria to be in its global leadership position and being the innovation leader in the world.
“A lot is going to be happening between now and 2030, and this is why we launch here,” she said. According to her, the path to becoming the next AI global hub will not be lenient.
“It is going to be full of challenges, and Africa should be prepared for it,” she said.
GITEX Africa will be held in Abuja and Lagos, with industry players from across the continent and beyond, academia, governments, companies, and other entities participating.
