Microsoft has urged Nigeria to place greater emphasis on equipping public sector workers with artificial intelligence (AI) skills, saying the country’s digital future will depend as much on the preparedness of government institutions as on technological investments.
The technology company believes that while AI has the potential to transform governance, improve public service delivery and stimulate economic growth, these benefits can only be realised if policymakers and public officials possess the knowledge required to understand, regulate and deploy the technology responsibly.
Speaking in an opinion article, Microsoft West Africa’s Government Affairs Director, Nonye Ujam, said governments around the world are discovering that successful AI adoption is driven less by advanced infrastructure and more by strong institutional capacity.
According to her, countries making significant progress in artificial intelligence are those that invested early in preparing their public institutions, building digital skills and developing governance frameworks capable of supporting emerging technologies.
She explained that AI can improve efficiency, transparency and responsiveness in government, but only when public institutions move beyond experimentation and develop the expertise needed to integrate the technology into everyday operations.
Ujam noted that government officials do not necessarily need to become AI engineers or technology experts. However, she stressed that policymakers must understand how artificial intelligence works, recognise its opportunities and risks, and create policies that encourage innovation while protecting citizens.
Nigeria has already signalled its ambition to become one of Africa’s leading AI economies through its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which focuses on ethical AI adoption, talent development, digital governance and collaboration with industry stakeholders. However, Microsoft believes the rapid pace of AI innovation means governments must continually strengthen their institutional capacity to keep pace with technological change.
The company warned that many governments worldwide are struggling to update regulations and public service systems quickly enough as artificial intelligence evolves, making continuous learning and digital upskilling increasingly important for civil servants.
Microsoft pointed to ongoing capacity-building initiatives involving policymakers, legislators and senior officials across ministries, departments and agencies as practical steps toward improving AI readiness in Nigeria. These programmes focus on critical areas such as responsible AI governance, cybersecurity, data management and digital policy development.
The company also highlighted broader national initiatives designed to expand AI capabilities across the technology ecosystem, including the Developers in Government programme and the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative, describing them as important investments in Nigeria’s digital workforce.
According to Ujam, strengthening human capacity within government may ultimately prove more valuable than investing solely in software or computing infrastructure.
She argued that a digitally skilled public sector would be better positioned to establish clear regulatory frameworks, strengthen public confidence in AI technologies and create an enabling environment that encourages innovation and attracts investment into Nigeria’s growing artificial intelligence ecosystem.
As AI adoption accelerates globally, Microsoft maintains that Nigeria’s long-term competitiveness will depend not only on embracing the technology but also on ensuring that the people responsible for governing it have the knowledge and skills to deploy it responsibly and effectively.
