Minister’s Week In Review

Last week’s (Apr. 8 - 12, 2024) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

INTRO?

In the lead up to the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) Workshop, I doubled down on my engagement with industry partners and stakeholders to champion the development of a transformational AI policy and build a pipeline of public and private sector technical talent in AI.

Expected outcomes from the NAIS Workshop include establishing strategic priorities, implementation approaches, governance models, funding needs and other building blocks for Nigeria's national AI strategy.

KEY FOCUS

Artificial Intelligence for Development: With the growing usage and adoption of Artificial Intelligence globally, one of my key priorities is the development of Nigeria’s capacity to accelerate the application of AI in our nation’s key economic sectors. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Workshop is a critical first step to co-create a transformational AI policy and develop solutions geared at accelerating socio-economic growth.??

TIMELINE

Monday?

I received a delegation from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) who paid me a courtesy visit. The delegation which was led by its Director General, Asishana Okauru, discussed possible areas of collaboration and partnership with the Ministry for growth and development.

We had extensive conversations on issues including the facilitation of? Right of Way for broadband expansion across states, establishing strategic relationship with the Broadband Alliance, and advancing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for improved public service delivery and exchange of data among government entities.

I then met with the team from Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and Huawei to discuss the implementation of third phase of the Nigeria National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) Project a€“ a cross-country optical fibre backbone developed to power digital transformation across Nigeria.

At the meeting, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju provided a status report of Phase 1 & 2 of the project. I gave my perspective on the issues and requested for a detailed proposal of the Phase 3 plan including proposed institutions, such as universities and hospitals, that will benefit from its eventual deployment.?

Following this, I had a virtual meeting with Uyi Stewart, Chief Data and Technology Officer, DataDotOrg who introduced their free training resource on Responsible Data Management. He outlined the importance of the course and its possible use as a training resource for Civil Servants. We also discussed the process of course credentialing as a way of making it even more valuable to beneficiaries.

Thursday?

I took some time during the holiday to participate in a co-creation workshop with the team from Google,which included Olumide Balogun, Google Director for West Africa; Adewolu Adene, Google Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy; and Adetutu Laditan, Senior Product Manager, YouTube.?

At the session, we explored areas of partnership and support for our Ministry’s initiatives especially in the area of Artificial Intelligence and Technical Talent Development. We agreed to explore a partnership to champion the development of our transformational AI policy, build a pipeline of public and private sector technical talent in AI, and facilitate training targeted at driving Government’s economic growth agenda.

Friday?

I met with Jane Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director/CEO, NigComSat who visited to introduce the new Executive Directors at the satellite technology company.

I spoke to them about the importance of their task while charging them to deliver effectively so as to make a strong case on the need for further investments in the company. On their part, the new Directors expressed their resolve to make NigComSat the preferred satellite company on the continent. Present at the meeting were Aisha Abdullahi, Executive Director Finance & Administration (EDFA) and Attah Abiodun, Executive Director, Technical Services (EDTS).

I later met with a delegation from Africalics led by the Secretary General of Nigerialics, Prof. Opeyemi Ayinde. They solicited the support of the Ministry for the Africalics 2024 Conference scheduled to hold at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State in November.

The Conference will bring together leading researchers and scholars across Africa to present their research findings on innovation, digital technologies and economic development amongst other sub-themes.

BLUEPRINT REVIEW

Last week, my activities focused on the Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital and Infrastructure pillar objectives of my Strategic Blueprint, as I engaged with various stakeholders to finalise plans for the National Artificial Strategy Workshop as well as advancing conversations around leveraging AI for growth.?