UNGA 81: NITDA DG advocates inclusive global approach to AI

Director‑General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has urged global leaders to adopt a more inclusive approach to artificial intelligence, stressing that emerging technologies must expand human capabilities rather than deepen existing inequalities.

Inuwa made the call while speaking at a UNGA 81 high‑level dialogue on technology, innovation, and social business as drivers of sustainable and inclusive development. President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Khalilur Rahman, attended the session.

Others were President of Timor‑Leste and Nobel Peace Laureate, José Ramos‑Horta; Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dasho Tshering Tobgay; Brazil’s Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Wellington Dias; and Pakistan’s Minister of State and Chairman of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, Bilal Bin Saqib.

Also in attendance was Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, founder of Grameen Bank, and Chair of the Global Committee on Social Business for Sustainable Development Goals.

Delivering his keynote address, Inuwa emphasised that global conversations on AI must shift from simply expanding access to technology to building systems rooted in representation, access, and agency.

He said inclusive AI must reflect the languages, cultures, contexts, and values of the people it is designed to serve, while empowering citizens to understand, shape, and derive value from AI systems. “Inclusive AI requires representation and access—and access must mean agency, not just consumption,” he noted.

Using agriculture as an example, the NITDA chief explained that AI could transform the lives of farmers with limited access to expert guidance by placing expert‑level assistance within their reach.

Inuwa said an AI‑enabled agricultural assistant could help farmers interpret weather patterns, understand soil conditions, diagnose crop challenges, and connect with markets. “The promise of AI is not that every Nigerian becomes an AI expert. It is that AI can put expertise within the reach of every Nigerian,” he added.

Inuwa outlined four foundational pillars of Nigeria’s strategy for an inclusive AI ecosystem—Connect, Skill, Compute, and Create—as well as initiatives to expand digital connectivity, enhance digital and technical skills, build sovereign cloud and AI capabilities, and enable entrepreneurs to develop solutions to national challenges.

On digital sovereignty, he clarified that Nigeria’s goal is not technological isolation but the ability to ensure that AI systems understand Nigerian data, contexts, and nuances, operate within Nigerian laws, and reflect the country’s culture and values, while remaining open to international partnerships and investments.

The NITDA DG called for shared responsibility among governments, technology companies, and citizens in shaping the global AI ecosystem. He maintained that governments must provide infrastructure, policy clarity, and regulatory certainty while protecting citizens.

The official urged companies to move beyond selling technology to Africa and instead “build with Africa,” through investments in computing infrastructure, knowledge transfer, talent development, African datasets and languages, and partnerships with local innovators and researchers.

Advising young people to view AI as a tool to augment capabilities and create opportunities, Inuwa warned that reliance on AI must not erode human accountability, especially in healthcare, livelihoods, rights, and public services. “We can delegate tasks to machines; we cannot delegate accountability,” he said.

Inuwa challenged policymakers and innovators to consider two fundamental questions when developing AI systems: who is represented in the intelligence being created? who has the agency to shape and benefit from that intelligence?

“The defining achievement of the AI age should not be that we created machines capable of extraordinary intelligence,” he stressed. “It should be that we used that intelligence to unlock extraordinary human possibilities for everyone.”

Inuwa assured that through NITDA, Nigeria would continue to pursue an AI ecosystem where representation drives relevance, access creates opportunity, and agency empowers citizens to become creators rather than mere consumers of the emerging AI economy