By BONIFACE AKARAH

Nigeria’s ambition to become a globally competitive destination for digital services received fresh impetus at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81), as the Director-General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, called for a shift from traditional outsourcing towards artificial intelligence-enabled services capable of creating higher-value opportunities for Nigerian talent.

Abdullahi made the case during the “Hire from Nigeria” session organised by the Nigeria Economic and Trade Advancement Programme (NATEP), where he joined the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, and the Minister of Education, Dr. Moruf Alausa, in discussions on impact sourcing, global trade, skills development and inclusive job creation

The NITDA chief said Nigeria’s competitive advantage should not be limited to supplying workers for conventional outsourcing, arguing that the rapid development of artificial intelligence provides an opportunity for the country to build a distinctive position around AI-augmented and IT-enabled services.

“Our opportunity is not simply to supply talent to the world; it is to equip Nigerian talent with AI, trusted digital infrastructure and globally competitive capabilities to deliver higher-value services to the world,” Abdullahi said.

He explained that Nigeria must equip its workforce not only to use emerging technologies but also to understand, develop and shape them in ways that create economic value.

According to Abdullahi, the transformation being driven by AI presents Nigeria with an opportunity to move beyond the traditional outsourcing model and develop a workforce capable of delivering more sophisticated technology-enabled services to international markets.

The NITDA DG also pointed to the importance of trust and regulatory certainty in attracting international businesses, highlighting Nigeria’s evolving frameworks around data protection, digital identity, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure assurance, data classification, sovereign cloud and software quality assurance.

Abdullahi said these frameworks were essential to positioning Nigeria as a dependable destination for global digital services, particularly as companies increasingly require secure infrastructure and predictable regulatory environments.

He further referenced Project BRIDGE, which targets the deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure, as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.

The NITDA chief also cited the Cloud First Policy and other measures aimed at encouraging private-sector investment in computing infrastructure and AI factories.

Abdullahi stressed that infrastructure alone would not be enough, saying Nigeria must also ensure that its participation in the emerging AI economy reflects the country’s people, data and realities.

He cautioned that communities and economies left out of the datasets used to develop intelligent systems could become increasingly invisible in the technologies shaping the future.

The DG said Nigeria’s response includes initiatives such as the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which he said were helping to lay the foundation for indigenous AI capabilities.

Abdullahi added that these initiatives were also intended to connect Nigeria’s growing talent and innovation ecosystem with opportunities in the global digital economy.

The NITDA boss maintained that Nigeria’s future competitiveness would depend on its ability to combine skilled human capital with reliable digital infrastructure, strong regulatory systems and emerging technologies.

His intervention at the UNGA81 session therefore placed emphasis on moving Nigerian workers up the digital value chain—from simply providing labour for global outsourcing to delivering technology-driven services with greater economic value.

The broader message, according to Abdullahi, is that Nigeria can use AI not merely as a tool for automation but as a means of expanding the capabilities of its workforce and strengthening the country’s position in the global digital economy.