Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has launched his vision for a National AI Trust — describing it as the first institution of its kind in the world — at a two-day convening hosted by Warwick Business School in London.
The Trust, already approved by Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council, is designed to mobilize resources, guide responsible AI adoption and ensure strategic, ethical AI investment across key economic sectors. The London convening, organized in partnership with pan-African innovation hub Co-creation Hub and the U.S.-based MacArthur Foundation, brought together senior Nigerian government representatives, international AI experts, business leaders, academics and public interest groups to help shape the Trust’s design and governance framework.
The initiative signals a step beyond the strategy-document stage at which most African governments remain. With the third-largest GDP on the continent, Nigeria is moving to form a dedicated institutional body with trustee oversight, designed to provide sustainable stewardship of AI development beyond the electoral cycle. By creating an institution intended to outlast the present government, governance can take a longer-term view somewhat independent of politics.
Tijani led the London convening at Warwick Business School — his alma mater — as one of three co-creation workshops the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy is holding to shape the Trust’s design. Tijani was named in Time Magazine’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI.
The Trust is envisioned as a body of trustees that will ensure AI development and deployment delivers broad-based economic and social value for all Nigerians. It will provide oversight and stewardship rather than direct operational control of AI systems or programmes. A key design principle is institutional longevity beyond the present government — Tijani was explicit that the Trust must demonstrate impact and value to survive political transitions, framing governance continuity as foundational to Nigeria’s long-term AI competitiveness.
The convening was organized in partnership with Co-creation Hub and the MacArthur Foundation. The Lagos and Nairobi-based Co-creation Hub is the leading pan-African innovation ecosystem enabler, operating across more than 40 African countries.
The National AI Trust is designed to sit alongside Nigeria’s infrastructure investment agenda. Tijani is simultaneously raising $2 billion for Project BRIDGE, an initiative to lay 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable network across Nigeria. The announcement frames governance and physical infrastructure as two equally essential and interdependent foundations for AI-led development.
Nigeria’s participation in the global AI race is framed explicitly as an issue of African representation. Tijani argued that as AI systems expand globally, diverse contexts and perspectives must be embedded in their development — and that the National AI Trust can play a role in ensuring Africa’s voice is present in shaping how AI evolves internationally.
The Trust builds on the foundations laid by Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, launched in 2025. The strategy sets out the country’s vision to become a global leader in AI through ethical and inclusive innovation, local talent development and strategic international collaboration. It is structured around five pillars — building foundational AI infrastructure; developing a world-class AI ecosystem; accelerating AI adoption and sector transformation; ensuring responsible and ethical AI development; and establishing a robust AI governance framework — underpinned by 34 specific strategies designed to drive economic growth and improve social outcomes in healthcare, agriculture and education.
