Nigeria Pushes African Bloc for AI Sovereignty
Nigeria wants African nations to pool their digital resources to avoid becoming tech colonies. Kashifu Abdullahi, head of the National Information Technology Development Agency, warned that the continent owns less than 1 per cent of global computing power. This tiny share persists even though Africa holds nearly a fifth of the world’s population. Nigeria is now leading a push for a “cloud of clouds” to connect existing data centres across borders. Without this, African data will continue to be refined and monetised by foreign platforms.
The plan looks to Europe’s GAIA-X project for inspiration. Instead of building one giant system, the goal is to link local infrastructure into a sovereign network. Nigeria is already testing this at home through its National Sovereign Cloud Initiative. Mr Abdullahi believes this is the only way to ensure that “intelligence” created from African data stays in Africa. He wants to stop the historical trend of the continent exporting raw talent and data while buying back finished products.
A technical working group is already talking to global tech giants and local data firms. The Nigerian government insists these talks focus on national interest rather than helping specific companies. Officials are cautious about state control and claim the private sector will run the actual hardware. A new public-private partnership framework aims to fund these projects without draining the treasury. Success depends on whether neighbours are willing to share their digital borders.
Security remains a significant hurdle for this interconnected vision. Mr Abdullahi noted that recent bank hacks exposed how easily a single breach spreads through linked systems. He criticised the habit of hiding cyberattacks to save face. This culture of secrecy makes the whole network more vulnerable to AI-driven threats. Organisations must share intelligence on threats if they want the “cloud of clouds” to be safe.
Nigeria is also preparing to host a massive tech summit later this year. Organisers hope to double last year’s attendance to 25,000 participants. The focus is shifting away from just counting startups to supporting those with real products. There is a clear effort to bring West African neighbours into the fold. Regional cooperation is no longer a luxury but a requirement for scale.
The continent has missed previous industrial shifts by playing the role of a spectator. This time, the gatekeepers in Abuja are trying to build the stadium themselves. It is a bold bet on collective action in a region often divided by trade barriers. If the plan fails, Africa will remain a mere consumer in the AI age. For now, the push for digital sovereignty is the top priority for Nigeria’s tech regulators.