The Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani has announced strategic partnerships with Cisco, 21st Century Technologies like Awarri and DataDotOrg.

Tijani made the announcements while speaking at a dinner to mark the end of a four-day National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) Workshop in Abuja.

The workshop was themed: “Developing the High-Level Strategy and Implementation Plan for a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Nigeria”.

He informed that the partnerships would drive technological innovation and boost Nigeria’s digital Economy.

Tijani said that the workshop was to formulate a strategy focused on addressing the needs of Nigerian citizens and communities.

He noted the increased attention on AI across the world and growth in investments in the technology in Nigeria saying: “Over one Petabyte of storage is already being allocated to AI projects in Nigeria by Galaxy Backbone Limited.

“The Pilot Compute Programme that we are undertaking, which is seeing 21st Century Technologies invest over 2 million dollars in Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).

“It is also going to put us in a position to start building and narrating the story for why we need to invest in our computing power as a nation.

“We all know that the strength of a network is determined by the value that each node on the network brings to it.

“If our world is truly connected, you are not helping Africa or Nigeria by ensuring that we can come to the table and participate.

“By partnering with us, you are only ensuring that our world is stronger because we have something significant to contribute to the network.”

The minister outlined a number of strategic partnerships and projects facilitated by the Ministry to fast-track Nigeria’s growth in the field of AI.

He listed them to include the National Centre for Al and Robotics (NCAIR) relaunch, Nigerian multilingual large language model, Nigeria’s computing infrastructure pilot and the AI collective, accordingly.

Tijani explained that the NCAIR relaunch of new and improved capacity was to better fulfill its mandate.

“The Centre is a special purpose vehicle created to promote research and development on emerging technologies and their practical application in the areas of Nigerian national interest.

“As a digital innovation and research facility, NCAIR focuses on Al, Robotics and Drones, Internet of Things (loT), and other emerging technologies, aimed at transforming the Nigerian digital economy.

“The capacity building imperative is undertaken with support from global technology company, Cisco.

”For the Nigerian multilingual large language model, Tijani said it aimed to build the most robust Nigerian large language model,” Tijani said.

He said in order to achieve this, the project would leverage the support of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme Fellows to collate high quality Nigerian language data and fuel the development of some of the most sophisticated AI models.

Tijani explained, “The project is developed by Awarri in partnership with NITDA and DataDotOrg.”

He explained that Nigeria’s computing infrastructure pilot would accelerate the development of Al projects of national interest.

According to him, Galaxy Backbone Limited will partner 21st Century Technologies to develop Nigeria’s national computer project.

“The Compute will be available to local researchers, startups, government entities working on critical Al projects that are of national interest.

“It will reside at the Galaxy Backbone Data Centre and be accessible through NCAIR,” the minister added.

Tijani said,”The AI Collective is a community of practice collaborating towards accelerating the nation’s collective prosperity through an inclusive Al Ecosystem.

“The collective will harness the power of Al to drive economic prosperity, accelerate innovation and social development, and position Nigeria as a leading force in AI for good globally.”

The minister expressed appreciation to all the stakeholders for making the workshop possible, while stating the benefits of adopting cutting-edge technologies.

They include Artificial Intelligence (AI) in raising the productivity of users for our collective prosperity.

The workshop was supported by local and international organisations such asq Luminate, Google, Meta, Microsoft, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR).

Others include Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Galaxy Backbone Limited, and Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems capable of performing complex tasks that historically only a human could do, such as reasoning, making decisions, or solving problems.

… We’ll prosecute perpetrators, accomplices — DG

Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has Friday conducted journalists round the three containers seized by the Commission in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at Onne Port,Area 2, containing about 3,000 cartons of pirated books, estimated  over N100m at market value.

 Addressing the Press and other stakeholders in the book industry in Port Harcourt, the Director General (DG) of NCC, Dr John Asein said henceforth the Commission will not hesitate “to seal premises, go after the proceeds of crimes and deal with the suspected materials summarily,” courtesy of the stronger Copyright  Statute with stiffer penalties for criminal  infringement.

The DG added that “the Commission  will hold anyone found with copies of pirated books accountable and presumed to be complicit in crime of piracy either as primary or secondary suspects.”

He said the renewed commitment to tackle piracy in all sectors complements government’s high level policy intervention to turn around the economy and grow the country’s creative industry. This,the DG said is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu led Federal Government of Nigeria.

He thanked the Nigeria Customs Service, the Department of  State Services (DSS) and other stakeholders whose  cooperation he said has made the seizures possible.

Dr Asein assured that henceforth NCC will be stepping up its enforcement  drive to decimate copyright piracy in Nigeria until it is reduced to a single digit number.

“With the support of partnering agencies and the cooperation of rights owners ,this is a task that must be accomplished. I invite landlords, transporters, warehouse owners, school proprietors,market authorities and the general public to report any suspicious activities in the book chain to the Nigerian Copyright Commission or any of the  partnering agencies,” the DG said.

Also speaking, the Area Comptroller of Customs, Onne Port, Babani Imam, who spoke through, CC Epundu said there is every need for  Federal Government Agencies to collaborate, noting that Customs Area 2 Onne has been intercepting drugs, arms and other contraband  products and handed them over to the appropriate agency handling such issue. He appealed for the  sustenance of the inter-agency partnership.

On his part, the President of Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), Chief Uche Anoke, who was represented by his Vice and CEO of Africans First Publishers Plc, Austin Onwubiko lauded  NCC for the excellent job they have been doing in combating piracy. He pointed out that the fight no doubt will allow the patent right owners to enjoy the fruit of their labour. He urged NCC to sustain their collaborative activities with other agencies, for optimal results.

He lamented that Publishers struggle to produce books, but pirates would not allow them to reap from their sweat.

He called on the Federal Government to liaise with the Chinese Embassy to stop the unholy trade from that country.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has held a stakeholders meeting in Lagos to create awareness to bridge the digital divide and empower Nigerians with essential digital skills.

The agency held the session in partnership with the GIZ/DTC.

The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, in his opening remarks, emphasised the critical role of digital literacy skills in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. He highlighted the NDLF as a comprehensive roadmap developed by NITDA, in collaboration with key stakeholders to equip Nigerians with the necessary digital skills to thrive in the digital age.

Inuwa, who was represented by Dr. Falilat Jimoh, of the Digital Inclusion Unit of the  Agency’s South West Zonal Office (SWZO), asserted that the collaborative efforts with the Ministry of Education were underscored, focusing on integrating the framework’s provisions into the national school curriculum.

“This initiative aims to equip students from a young age with foundational digital skills essential for future success,” he noted.

Furthermore, he mentioned that NITDA’s partnership with GIZ/DTC is fostered to establish robust standards for digital literacy content, ensuring high-quality and relevant learning materials aligned with NDLF’s objectives.

Inuwa stressed that NITDA’s commitment to digital inclusion extends beyond formal education, with ongoing digital literacy programs targeting women, artisans, and other underserved segments of the society.

He emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts, stating that the framework enables the implementation of NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2.0, 2024–2027 pillars, “Fostering Digital Literacy and Cultivating Talents.”

The SRAP 2.0 is a living document that is being redrafted to align with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy policy document “Accelerating Our Collective Responsibility,” which has Five strategic pillars namely, Knowledge, Policy, Infrastructure, Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital, and Trade.

According to the NITDA boss, these programs aim to empower individuals to participate meaningfully in the digital economy and access online opportunities.

“This resonates with the Knowledge pillar of the Ministry tailored to accelerate the collective responsibilities of all stakeholders towards achieving inclusivity in all its dimensions which supports the Renewed Hope Agenda that is focused on propelling the Nigerian economy and enhancing the welfare of its citizens,” he said.

Hence, he stated that the workshop goal is to create widespread awareness about the NDLF through interactive sessions and discussions, providing stakeholders with a deeper understanding of its components, target audiences, and potential impact on bridging the digital divide among Nigerians.

Additionally, the Director-General emphasised the importance of collective action in the successful implementation of the NDLF, expressing gratitude for the collaboration with partners and the participation of stakeholders. He affirmed that the significance of tailoring the framework to the specific needs of Nigeria’s diverse population is to achieve maximum effectiveness.

In conclusion, Inuwa expressed confidence that the NDLF, coupled with collaborative efforts, will play a pivotal role in empowering Nigerians with the digital skills necessary to actively participate in the digital economy, and access online information and opportunities while contributing to a more inclusive and prosperous society. He then urged participants to continue collaborations to unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s digital future.

Earlier, the Commission Manager GIZ/DTC Nigeria,  Dr. Thuweba Diwani in her opening remarks delivered by Olusegun Alimi, the Technical Advisor, GIZ/DTC Nigeria, anticipated that the awareness session would be an avenue to dialogue and come up with a “Participatory Policy Implementation Framework (PPIF)” he added, “for policies to be sustainable they need to be owned by the people.”

The Digital Transformation Centre Nigeria (DTC Nigeria) is a project funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft Fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It focuses on digitalisation, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Nigeria, aiming to enhance the country’s digital innovation ecosystem and boost its capacity for adopting digital innovations for economic and societal growth.

Other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the dialogue were, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Lagos Public Private Partnership (PPP), Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), also, the private sectors represented were MTN Foundation, CISCO, Tech4Dev, Faith Foundation among others.

The moderator, Mr. Tayo Olosunde an ecosystem industry enthusiast affirmed that the stakeholders’ sessions had also been held in Kano and Abuja.