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By Elisha Chebwawaza Gideon
Nigeria has opened the second edition of GITEX AI NIGERIA 2026 with a powerful call for Africa to move beyond consuming technologies developed elsewhere and begin building, governing and owning the digital systems that will shape its economic and strategic future.
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Held in Abuja under the theme“The Bridge to Sovereign AI & Innovation,” the opening day brought together senior government officials, technology leaders, regulators, defence and security stakeholders, development agencies and international technology players to examine what it will take for Nigeria and Africa to establish greater control over artificial intelligence, data and critical digital infrastructure.
The discussions placed AI sovereignty, data governance, infrastructure, regulation, investment and digital inclusion at the centre of Africa’s technology conversation.
NITDA: AI Is Becoming an Architecture of Sovereignty
Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, set the tone for the summit with a keynote that positioned artificial intelligence as much more than an emerging productivity tool.
Abdullahi argued that AI is increasingly becoming part of the architecture through which nations exercise technological and economic self-determination.
“Artificial intelligence transcends the category of mere technology; it is an active epistemic medium and a structural architecture for synthetic cognition,” Abdullahi said.
He argued that AI’s significance extends beyond automating tasks, describing it as an engine capable of synthesising human intelligence and reshaping how societies generate knowledge, make decisions and exercise agency.
For Africa, he said, technological adoption must therefore be accompanied by deliberate efforts to ensure that AI systems operate within frameworks that protect human autonomy, national interests and digital sovereignty.
Nigeria Faces an AI Infrastructure Challenge
The opening sessions also drew attention to one of the continent’s most fundamental challenges: the infrastructure required to support sovereign AI ambitions.
Speaking on behalf of the Lagos State Governor, the Lagos State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake, warned that Africa’s continued dependence on AI infrastructure located outside the continent creates strategic vulnerabilities while allowing significant economic opportunities to escape local markets.
According to Alake, the development of local Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and regional AI hubs could help Africa capture more of the value generated by its rapidly expanding digital economy.
But achieving that ambition, he noted, requires urgent action on three major constraints — security, capital and reliable electricity.
Without addressing these structural deficits, African countries could find themselves generating demand for AI services without possessing the infrastructure and computational capacity required to control or sustainably operate them.
Who Owns Africa’s Data and Computing Power?
The question of ownership emerged as one of the defining themes of the Abuja summit.
Panellists, including Prof. Lourino Chemane, Board President of Mozambique’s National Institute of Information and Communication, and Dr. Mactar Seck, Chief of Technology at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), joined the debate alongside NITDA’s leadership.
The central concern was straightforward: Can African countries claim digital sovereignty when much of the infrastructure, computing power and AI systems on which their economies increasingly depend are controlled outside their jurisdictions?
The panellists questioned whether African countries currently have sufficient energy capacity, capital and computing infrastructure to maintain control over critical digital systems.
The debate underscored the growing strategic importance of sovereign AI as countries increasingly recognise data and computational capacity as assets linked not only to economic competitiveness but also to national security.
NITDA Links Sovereign AI to Nigeria First Policy
In an exclusive conversation with IT Edge News, Abdullahi outlined the Federal Government’s approach to digital sovereignty, describing it as a broader programme encompassing operational independence, data governance and stronger legal frameworks.
“Nigeria is aggressively advancing its digital landscape through comprehensive sovereignty initiatives that encompass operational independence, data governance, and robust legal frameworks,” he said.
He also highlighted Project Bridge, describing the initiative as an important component of efforts to connect underserved communities and embed inclusion within Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Abdullahi further linked digital infrastructure to the Federal Government’s Nigeria First policy, arguing that technology infrastructure should no longer be regarded simply as a utility.
Instead, he said, it should be treated as foundational infrastructure for national security, economic competitiveness and long-term self-determination.
From Connectivity to Sovereign Data Services
The conversation around Nigeria’s technology future is also beginning to move beyond basic connectivity.
Brook Richard, a GITEX official, told IT Edge News that one of the major developments likely to shape Nigeria’s digital economy is the emergence of sovereign AI and sovereign data services.
Richard said the role of GITEX was to bring together government, regulators, investors, policymakers, private-sector players and technology innovators around the country’s digital ambitions.
The evolution is significant.
For years, Nigeria’s digital transformation conversation was dominated by broadband penetration, mobile connectivity and access to basic digital services.
The next phase is increasingly about where data is stored, where computing takes place, who owns the infrastructure, who controls the technology and who captures the economic value.
UNECA Calls for African Regulatory Harmonisation
While infrastructure and computing capacity remain major concerns, regulation could become equally important in determining whether Africa develops into a technology producer or remains predominantly a technology market.
Dr. Mactar Seck of UNECA called for greater harmonisation of regulatory frameworks across African countries.
He argued that countries should learn from one another and build on regulatory approaches that have already demonstrated results.
“Regulatory sandboxes, already operational in countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, are key to regulating new services while promoting innovation,” Seck said.
He warned that without appropriate regulatory frameworks, Africa risks remaining primarily a consumer of technologies developed elsewhere.
For him, regulation should not be viewed as an obstacle to innovation but as part of the infrastructure required to create a sustainable technology ecosystem.
“Without sound, adequate regulation, Africa will remain a consumer rather than a producer of technology. Regulation matters,” he said.
Industry Warns Against a Disconnect Between Innovation and Regulation
The challenge of balancing innovation with regulation also featured prominently in discussions around Africa’s technology ecosystem.
Nosike Nwigene, Global PR and Communications for Africa Tech, argued that innovation cannot operate independently of effective regulation.
“Innovation cannot move faster than regulation, it simply cannot,” Nwigene said.
She stressed the importance of coordination between innovators, regulators and technology companies, noting that major global technology companies are increasingly participating in conversations around Africa’s digital development.
According to her, the presence of multinational companies including Google, Meta and Cisco creates an opportunity for public and private-sector stakeholders to move beyond discussion and identify practical ways to accelerate technology adoption and development.
From Abuja Policy Dialogue to Lagos Commercial Execution
The Abuja edition of GITEX AI Nigeria 2026 has effectively established the strategic and policy foundation for the wider event.
The central message emerging from the opening day was that Africa’s digital future cannot be secured by connectivity alone.
The continent must develop the infrastructure, capital, skills, regulatory systems, computing capacity and local technology companies required to create and control the next generation of digital services.
For Nigeria, that challenge is particularly significant.
The country has one of Africa’s largest technology markets and a rapidly expanding population of digital consumers. But turning market size into technological sovereignty will require a transition from adoption to ownership.
That means developing indigenous AI capabilities, strengthening local data infrastructure, expanding reliable power supply, attracting technology investment and creating regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation while protecting national interests.
The “What Next?” Question
As the first day ended in Abuja, the discussions had moved beyond the theoretical promise of artificial intelligence to a more urgent question: what happens next?
Nwigene acknowledged that high-level dialogue would continue, but argued that pressure from Africa’s younger population would increasingly force leaders to translate conversations into action.
“Young people asking ‘what’s next?’ will keep the pressure on leaders. We need to keep the ball rolling,” she said.
That pressure is likely to define the next phase of GITEX AI Nigeria 2026.
With the Abuja summit establishing the policy conversation around sovereign AI, the focus will now shift towards the Tech Expo and Startup Festival in Lagos, where the emphasis is expected to move from policy and strategy to technology demonstrations, commercial opportunities, investment and venture partnerships.
For Nigeria and the wider continent, the ambition is increasingly clear: the future of AI should not simply be something Africa consumes.
It should be something Africa helps build, own, govern and export.
