INTRO

This edition of Week in Review captures two weeks of engagements focused on advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda through global advocacy, strategic partnerships, cybersecurity coordination, innovation ecosystem development, and institutional competitiveness. Across engagements in Washington DC and Abuja, I continued conversations that position technology, innovation, and strong institutions as central to Nigeria’s pathway toward a $1 trillion economy.

From representing Nigeria at the World Bank Spring Meetings, to convening critical stakeholders on national cybersecurity resilience, signing a strategic connectivity partnership for police formations, and unveiling two years of progress under Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the period reflected our deliberate commitment to translating vision into measurable progress across the digital economy.

TIMELINE

Tuesday, April 14 – Advancing Nigeria’s digital growth agenda globally

• Themed, ‘Building Prosperity through Policy,’ the World Bank Spring Meetings 2026 in Washington DC focused on discussions around job creation, private investment, and economic growth. My engagement at the meetings aims to highlight the importance of digital innovation and technology as critical enablers for building Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy.

Wednesday, April 15 – Promoting investment and AI leadership for Africa

• I joined Dr. James Manyika, President, Research, Labs, Technology & Society, Google, and other key stakeholders to discuss ways of advancing Africa’s economic growth through strategic investments in digital infrastructure. The roundtable event was organised by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S. Africa Business Center in partnership with global technology giant, Google.
• My next engagement on the sidelines of the World Bank Spring Meetings 2026 was a live podcast session titled, ‘Global Progress in the AI Era: Live from The Capital Summit’ with co-panelist, founder and CEO of Amini, Kate Kallot and host, Devex Senior Editor for Special Coverage, Catherine Cheney. Our conversations centred on the critical choices that will have the most impact on how the technology reshapes the global south — including building absorptive capacity, strengthening data infrastructure, and putting in place governance systems capable of supporting local development.

Wednesday, April 22 – Strengthening cybersecurity and public sector connectivity

• Back in Abuja, I convened the first stakeholder session on establishing a Ministerial Advisory Council for Cybersecurity Coordination for Nigeria’s digital economy. The session featured open discussions on what coordinated national cybersecurity resilience requires.
• Next was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between my Ministry and the Nigeria Police Trust Fund represented by its Secretary, Mohammed Sheidu. On the basis of this agreement, we plan on linking police stations to the national fibre backbone, equipping them with data-sharing capabilities, and positioning them to benefit from AI-enabled tools for incident response, case management, and predictive analytics.

Thursday, April 23 – Showcasing AI progress and engaging future leaders

• Two years after we brought together over 120 experts of Nigerian descent from across the world to formulate Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS), I joined key stakeholders — including Luminate, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Data Science Nigeria (DSN) — in Abuja to unveil #NAIS at 2, an ecosystem-led compilation capturing key developments, progress, and signals of growth across the country’s AI landscape over the last two years.
• I later delivered an address to members of the Warwick Business School (WBS) Africa Alumni Network, with the focus on AI, Institutions, and National Competitiveness: Positioning Nigeria for the Next Global Economy.