By carefully developing its coal deposits, Nigeria might profit from the projected 650 billion dollar worldwide boom in artificial intelligence (AI), according to a strategic policy and national development research group.
The organization, Galadiman Ruwa Centre for Strategic Leadership and Communication, expressed concerns regarding the pressing need for policy measures that would enable the country to seize emerging opportunities in energy and technology.
In an open memo addressed to President Bola Tinubu, the center characterized Nigeria as a “slumbering golden giant” within the global energy supply chains, urging the Federal Government to unlock coal resources to maximize industrial value.
In a conversation with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Zaria, the founder of the center, Dr. Ja’afaru Sa’ad, stated that the global race for AI supremacy has increasingly transformed into a contest for energy resources.
Sa’ad pointed out that leading technology companies now demand substantial and reliable electricity supplies to operate next-generation data centers and high-performance computing systems.
He mentioned that global technology leaders have expressed concerns about maintaining energy for artificial intelligence infrastructure, referencing comments made by Google Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Pichai, and Meta’s multi-billion-dollar AI investment initiatives.
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The think tank projected that global technology firms could invest approximately 650 billion dollars in AI expansion in 2026 alone, a figure that surpasses the annual budgets of numerous developing economies combined.
Sa’ad emphasized that Nigeria possesses a strategic advantage, with nearly five billion metric tons of coal reserves, describing this resource as a potential cornerstone for global energy security in the forthcoming artificial intelligence era.
He cautioned that the ongoing underutilization of coal resources could result in Nigeria losing trillions of dollars in opportunities across industrialization, manufacturing, and energy value chains, both domestically and in export markets.
The memorandum, as he stated, also suggested the creation of a Nigerian Green Energy and Chemicals Corporation aimed at converting coal and similar resources into high-value energy and industrial products.
He indicated that such a venture would bolster long-term national energy security, enhance industrial competitiveness, and contribute to economic diversification objectives.
Sa’ad called upon the Federal Government to lessen dependence on debt-fueled growth and instead adopt a strategy of sovereign economic engineering that focuses on activating dormant industrial assets and fortifying national energy security frameworks.
”The global economy is experiencing a structural transformation influenced by energy and artificial intelligence. Nigeria must respond swiftly or risk missing one of the pivotal industrial transformation opportunities of this century,” he remarked. (NAN)
