Nigeria Emerges as West Africa's Technology Hub, According to Tijani

Nigeria has emerged as the digital powerhouse of West Africa, according to the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, who stressed that the country's growing influence in digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity must become a key pillar of its foreign policy.

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This statement was made by Tijani on Tuesday at the Second Seminar on Anticipatory, Cyber and Digital Diplomacy, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, with the theme “From Awareness to Activation: Operationalising AI, Cyber and Digital Statecraft for Nigeria’s Foreign Policy,” which brought together policymakers, diplomats, and technology experts to discuss Nigeria’s digital future.

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Tijani noted that diplomacy is no longer determined solely by a country’s size, economy, or military strength, but increasingly by its digital capabilities, as he stated, “I think all of us can testify to the fact that digital is now a major part of our lives in everything we do, and that’s the case for nations as well.

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He further explained that diplomacy is shifting away from traditional factors, saying, “So diplomacy in itself is shifting away from just how big your country is, the size of your economy or defence, it’s coming towards digital,” according to the minister.

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Nigeria is uniquely positioned to lead digital transformation in the region, Tijani said, noting that it is the only country in West Africa with its own communications satellites and the highest number of subsea internet cables, as he stated, “We’re the only country in the West African region with its own communication satellites; we’re the only country in the West African region with the highest number of subsea cables,”

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The country has also become the data hub of West Africa, making it strategically important to global technology companies and neighbouring countries, with Tijani saying, “The implication of this is that we’re a powerful nation, we’ve always been, but in the digital space, we’re a powerful nation,”

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The Federal Government is strengthening the country’s cybersecurity architecture through a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Cybersecurity, which will bring government and the private sector together to share intelligence on emerging cyber threats, according to the minister.

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The government is also adopting a resilience-based approach to protecting critical digital infrastructure, including subsea cables, fibre networks, and satellites, Tijani disclosed.

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Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s top-ranked nation for responsible AI in an assessment by a University of Cambridge research group, with Tijani attributing the recognition to deliberate policies that promote AI innovation while safeguarding national interests.

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The country has developed the first government-backed large language model capable of understanding Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Ibibio, and accented English, with Tijani saying, “No one should build artificial intelligence that our people cannot understand,”

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The Federal Executive Council has approved the establishment of a National AI Trust to oversee investments and governance in artificial intelligence, the minister announced.

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The government’s Three Million Technical Talent programme has already trained nearly 300,000 young Nigerians across all local government areas, with Tijani saying, “A lot of those people are already now being placed into jobs with support from organisations like UNDP and the EU as well,”

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Earlier, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, said advances in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital technology were reshaping diplomacy and global governance.

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He noted that the inaugural seminar led to the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Diplomacy Unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate Nigeria’s engagement on emerging technologies, and urged participants to develop practical recommendations that would strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic capacity.

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Enikanolaiye emphasised that anticipatory diplomacy required stronger institutional readiness, enhanced digital capabilities, and deeper collaboration among government, academia, technology experts, and international partners, and added that the ministry remained committed to developing digitally competent diplomats.

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The Chair of the African Union Cybersecurity Experts Group and lead facilitator of the seminar, Abdul Hakeem Ajijola, said the event was designed to prepare Nigeria for emerging technologies and their implications for diplomacy, stating, “We are here to talk about anticipatory, cyber and digital diplomacy, anticipatory diplomacy is looking at the future, what is coming, for example, AI is no longer coming, AI is here,”

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Ajijola explained that cyber diplomacy focuses on managing relationships among nations in cyberspace, while digital diplomacy involves using digital platforms to promote Nigeria’s interests globally, and noted that while the maiden edition of the seminar in 2025 focused on awareness, this year’s edition was aimed at implementation.