By Juliet Umeh

Nigeria may remain dependent on foreign artificial intelligence, AI, technologies unless it deliberately invests in indigenous AI innovation, infrastructure and talent development, a new report has warned.

The report, titled: “Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Nigeria: A Macro and Micro Economic Review,” noted that although Nigeria is among Africa’s fastest adopters of AI, the country has yet to develop the institutional, technological and human capacity required to own and sustain the technology.

Authored by Debola Ibiyode, Founder and Executive Director of the AI Empowerment Foundation and Founder/Chief Executive Officer of CarbonAI, the study was conducted by OLGNova in collaboration with AI in Action Now.

According to the report, Nigeria’s increasing reliance on foreign AI models, cloud infrastructure and software platforms threaten its digital sovereignty and long-term economic competitiveness.

It warned that while Nigerians generate enormous volumes of data through AI-powered applications, much of the economic value created ultimately benefits foreign technology companies that own the underlying platforms.

“Nigeria is not failing at AI; it is adopting AI faster than it is building the institutional, infrastructural and human foundations needed to sustain and own that adoption,” the report stated.

The study revealed that more than 70 per cent of Nigerians have interacted with generative AI tools, while 93 percent of organisations surveyed have begun adopting AI, with nearly one-third deploying the technology in advanced business operations.

It also highlighted Nigeria’s growing research capacity, noting that local scholars have produced over 11,600 AI-related academic publications, with the University of Ibadan leading the country’s research output.

The report said AI is already transforming key sectors of the economy. In healthcare, AI-powered platforms are helping doctors analyse radiological scans, diagnose birth asphyxia in newborns and provide mental health support through intelligent chatbots.

In agriculture, AI advisory platforms are increasing crop yields by between 20 and 30 percent while lowering production costs. The report added that predictive maintenance and route optimisation technologies are reducing food waste and improving supply chain efficiency.

It also cited the Federal Civil Service’s Service Wise GPT initiative and AI-powered traffic management pilots in Lagos and Abuja, which have reportedly reduced peak-hour travel times by about 20 percent.

Despite these gains, the report warned that Nigeria contributes little to the development of foundational AI models, indigenous datasets and domestic computing infrastructure, leaving the country vulnerable to changing licensing policies, service disruptions and external control of critical digital infrastructure.

The review further projected that automation could displace about nine million routine jobs by 2030, particularly in banking, clerical services and public administration. However, it estimated that AI could create about 11 million technology-enabled jobs if the country invests aggressively in digital skills and workforce reskilling.

To achieve what it described as “sovereign AI,” the report urged government, universities, technology firms and investors to accelerate investments in local AI infrastructure, indigenous language datasets, innovation hubs and affordable technology financing. It also called on universities to train students to build AI models rather than merely use existing applications, stressing that Nigeria’s long-term competitiveness will depend on its ability to create, own and export homegrown AI technologies.