Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has declared that Nigeria is ready to lead the global future economy through innovation, resilience, and deliberate policy support.
Addressing participants at GITEX Nigeria, Lagos edition, Inuwa said the event signalled a bold declaration of intent. “For too long, the future economy has felt like science fiction. We talked about it as a distant, abstract concept. But today, right here in Lagos, that future is a tangible reality,” he said.
He traced the country’s digital journey back to the introduction of the cashless policy, which spurred fintech growth and made Lagos the capital of Africa’s tech ecosystem.
“Of the eight or nine unicorns in Africa, five originated from Nigeria. This feat could be attributed to deliberate government policy and the indomitable spirit of Nigerian innovators,” he noted.
Inuwa stressed that Nigeria’s potential goes far beyond fintech, pointing to opportunities in agriculture, healthcare, and security.
“With the right opportunities, Nigeria can compete with any city or nation globally. We are ready to build solutions in agriculture, healthcare, security, and culture; solutions that will drive 10x productivity and efficiency,” he maintained.
He also aligned Nigeria’s ambitions with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises industrialisation, digitisation, and innovation.
“Through policy alignment, infrastructure investment, and startup-friendly reforms, the government is laying a solid foundation for digital transformation,” Inuwa said.
Reaffirming NITDA’s role, he added: “This support is not just strategic, it is catalytic. By embedding digital innovation into national development plans, Tinubu’s administration is ensuring that Nigeria doesn’t just participate in the global tech race but leads it.”
According to him, Nigeria’s resilience, creativity, and entrepreneurial drive will ensure its dominance in the digital age. “We don’t build with infrastructure, we build with resilience because we have no other option,” Inuwa said.