Nigeria has officially launched its first National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre of Excellence at the University of Jos, signaling a major milestone in the country’s efforts to build local AI research capacity, develop talent, and establish itself as a key player in the global AI ecosystem.
The centre, inaugurated by Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, during the university’s 50th convocation, will serve as a national hub for advanced AI research, skills development, policy engagement, and innovation. It is the first facility of its kind in Nigeria and will receive federal support through the ministry.
Tijani said the initiative underscores Nigeria’s commitment to being an active contributor to AI development rather than merely a consumer of global technologies. “With a population exceeding 240 million and growing by around five million annually, Nigeria must play a defining role in how AI systems are designed, governed, and deployed,” he said.
A major focus of the centre will be inclusive research and data representation, ensuring AI systems reflect Nigeria’s social realities, languages, cultures, and economic structures. Tijani stressed that universities should lead in developing locally relevant datasets and contextual intelligence instead of relying solely on foreign-trained AI models.
Challenging the perception that global AI leadership depends purely on computing power, the minister highlighted the importance of sustained academic investment in machine learning and related fields, citing France and the United States as examples. He emphasized that Nigerian institutions must engage in foundational AI research to generate meaningful economic and social benefits. “AI is built on numbers, and Nigeria has the numbers. We are too big a country not to participate meaningfully in artificial intelligence,” Tijani said, noting projections that the nation’s population could approach 500 million within two decades.
The University of Jos was selected to host the centre as part of a broader strategy to position Nigerian universities as engines of innovation and thought leadership from the global South. As an alumnus, Tijani said the institution must move beyond observing Nigeria’s digital future to actively shaping it.
The National AI Centre of Excellence is expected to play a central role in talent development, research collaboration, and policy advisory work as Nigeria expands its digital economy agenda in 2026 and beyond, amid increasing global competition in AI.
