INTRO 

In the lead up to the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) Workshop, the Honourable Minister doubled down on his engagement with industry partners and stakeholders to champion the development of a transformational AI policy and build a pipeline of public and private sector technical talent in AI.

Expected outcomes from the NAIS Workshop include establishing strategic priorities, implementation approaches, governance models, funding needs and other building blocks for Nigeria’s national AI strategy.

KEY FOCUS

Artificial Intelligence for Growth: With the growing usage and adoption of AI globally, the Honourable Minister has prioritised the development of Nigeria’s capacity to accelerate the application of AI in Nigeria’s key economic sectors. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Workshop is a critical first step to co-create a transformational AI policy and develop solutions geared at accelerating socio-economic growth.  

TIMELINE

Monday: 

• The Honourable Minister received a delegation from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) who paid him a courtesy visit in his office. The delegation which was led by its Director General, Asishana Okauru, discussed possible areas of collaboration and partnership with the Ministry for growth and development. Issues deliberated upon at the meeting include facilitating Right of Way for broadband expansion across states, establishing strategic relationship with the Broadband Alliance, and advancing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for improved public service delivery and exchange of data among government entities.
• Dr. Tijani then met with the team from Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and Huawei to discuss the implementation of third phase of the Nigeria National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) Project – a cross-country optical fibre backbone developed to power digital transformation across Nigeria. At the meeting, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju provided a status report of the Phase 1 & 2 of the project. The Honourable Minister gave his perspective on the issues and requested for a detailed proposal of the Phase 3 plan including proposed institutions – such as universities and hospitals – that will benefit from its eventual deployment. Following this, the Honourable Minister had a virtual meeting with Uyi Stewart, Chief Data and Technology Officer, DataDotOrg who introduced their free training resource on Responsible Data Management. He outlined the importance of the course and its possible use as a training resource for Civil Servants. Both parties then discussed the process of course credentialing as a way of making it even more valuable to beneficiaries.