Title: AI Adoption in Nigeria: Policy Enforcement Gaps and Strategic Recommendations
Authors: Fawei Jenny Ebitonere
Volume: 9
Issue: 12
Pages: 171-180
Publication Date: 2025/12/28
Abstract:
The rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across major sectors in Nigeria, including Fintech, Healthcare, Agriculture, and Manufacturing, is outpacing the country's capacity for comprehensive policy enforcement and governance. While Nigeria has established the National AI Strategy (NAIS) and relies heavily on the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 as its primary enforcement tool, significant limitations and structural gaps persist, such as pervasive algorithmic bias stemming from unrepresentative data, an acute lack of high-quality, localized, and linguistic datasets, and the absence of dedicated, comprehensive AI-specific legislation persist. Furthermore, limited high-performance computing (HPC) resources, inadequate funding, and a great technical skills deficit among regulators and the judiciary hinder effective oversight and enforcement. This paper details these enforcement gaps and proposes a set of targeted recommendations across Regulatory, Infrastructure, and Human Capital pillars, advocating for the enactment of a risk-based AI Act, dedicated funding for the regulator, and massive investment in localized data repositories and AI literacy to ensure responsible, ethical, and inclusive AI adoption in Nigeria