Africa Poised to Lead Global AI Revolution with Strategic Vision – NITDA DG

Speaking at a panel session titled “Harnessing AI for Strategic Leadership” during the Main Stage of GITEX Africa 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco, Inuwa urged business and public sector leaders across the continent to fully integrate AI into their operations to unlock new opportunities, redefine leadership, and enable smarter decision-making.

Addressing a diverse audience of policymakers, technologists, and investors, the NITDA boss positioned Nigeria—and Africa at large—as a rising force in the global AI ecosystem.

“AI is shifting the skills we value today, as well as the processes we use to do our daily work, so to drive strategic leadership, you need to be an AI-driven leader and find a way to use AI as a tool to create co-intelligence whereby you bring people and computers to work together to deliver your strategic vision as a leader,” Inuwa said.

He emphasized that leadership in the AI era requires a fundamental shift in mindset, where technology becomes not just a tool but a trusted partner. “Strategy must always come first, and technology second,” he added.

Inuwa outlined four key principles for effectively deploying generative AI:

“Invite AI to the table – by assigning it clear roles in organizational tasks;

“Maintain human oversight – to mitigate bias and errors;

“Design guardrails – to uphold ethics, privacy, and inclusivity;

“Adopt continuous improvement – by recognizing today’s AI as the least capable version we’ll ever use”.

Warning of the dangers of biased data, Inuwa stressed the importance of ensuring digital visibility for all cultures and communities. “If data doesn’t see a community, the system won’t see it either,” he cautioned.

He also introduced NITDA’s Regulatory Intelligence Framework, which is based on three pillars: Awareness, Intelligence, and Dynamism.

“In our approach to regulating AI in governance, we have a framework we call Regulatory Intelligence Framework, which as a regulator we need to be aware of the environment, we need to be dynamic because things change, and we also need to be intelligent. We need to know the data and make sense out of it,” he explained.

The framework includes both rule-based guidelines and a more adaptive, use-case-driven approach. “We have 2 approaches—the first one is a rule-based where you can come up with certain guidelines and expect people to comply, and we have a non-rule-based approach which allows them to build use cases and agree on best practices. This is always the best when it comes to AI governance,” he said.

Looking ahead, Inuwa painted a bold vision for Africa over the next five years—one where AI is deeply embedded across economic sectors to bridge development gaps and drive inclusive growth.

“We missed the first, second, and third industrial revolutions, but this fourth one, we must lead it and not just follow,” he concluded.

Other panelists included Philip Thigo, Special Envoy on Technology for the Republic of Kenya; Gituku Kirika, CEO of Pesalink; and Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Head of Africa at OpenAI.