Nigeria ranks 72 in AI readiness; $18.3m revenue projected

As governments all over the world race to harness Artificial intelligence (AI), Nigeria is ranked 72nd out of 195 countries on global AI readiness. Dr. Salihu Abdulkarim, an Assistant Director, Research and Development, Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, said this at a Research Methodology workshop on AI readiness at Subnational levels in Kano convened […]

As governments all over the world race to harness Artificial intelligence (AI), Nigeria is ranked 72nd out of 195 countries on global AI readiness.
Dr. Salihu Abdulkarim, an Assistant Director, Research and Development, Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, said this at a Research Methodology workshop on AI readiness at Subnational levels in Kano convened by the Centre for Information Technology Development CITAD.
Abdulkarim said with 179.6 million mobile subscribers and over 90,000 kilometres optic fibre network, Nigeria is projected to generate $18.3 million in 2026 and a 21% ICT contribution to the GDP in 2027.
According to him, Egypt is ranked 5th, Kenya and South Africa are ranked 65th and 67th while Tunisia sits at 99th.
“Nigeria’s National AI strategy launched in August 2024 was built on 5 pillars of transformation, targeting talent development with skills programmes in AI centres of excellence and research fellowship.
“The Federal government is targeting 3 million tech graduates focusing on high-demand skills including AI, Machine learning and data science to build human capital but the challenges remain infrastructure, fibre vandalism, missed targets, right of way and rural coverage gaps,” he explained.
While noting that Lagos State has a robust ICT policy and broadband penetration and tech hubs, with Kano recording growth in tech ecosystem and digital initiatives, he regrets that skilled IT graduates are emigrating to UK Canada for better opportunities.
He said upscaling is key but AI won’t take over human jobs.
CITAD Executive Director YZ Yau said he proposed pilot state level assessment for AI deployment to examine their readiness and public awareness.
He further said CITAD is concerned about the readiness of the state governments, adding, if they are ready, what infrastructure are available and how many data centres are in place, with Kano, Plateau and Bauchi states chosen to represent the three geopolitical zones in the North.

Dr. Hafsat Ahmed Kabir from the Computer Science Department, BUK, said AI deployment requires computing power, reliable electricity, high speed connectivity, data centres and cloud services because the system needs massive data processing to work, noting that state level implementation of AI strategy is the challenge.