. FG plans country’s first national AI centre in UNIJOS
In terms of artificial intelligence (AI) deployment readiness across the globe, Nigeria has ranked 72nd and fourth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) behind Kenya, South Africa and Mauritius at 65th, 67th, and 71st, respectively.
The 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, published by Oxford Insights, revealed this; however, it disclosed that Egypt ranked first in Africa and 51st globally. It revealed that 10 other countries on the Continent made it into the top 100 globally, two of which are Rwanda and Ethiopia, which have established innovation hubs to mobilise AI investment and pioneer new AI initiatives.
The Oxford Insights index assesses 195 governments using 69 indicators across six pillars, including policy capacity, governance, AI infrastructure, public sector adoption, development and diffusion, and resilience.
Oxford Insight noted that in this year’s edition of the Index, SSA has made progress in the areas of Governance, which unpacks how AI is explored and regulated in countries, and Development and Diffusion (measuring the continent’s AI human capital, AI sector maturity and technology diffusion).
For both pillars, it noted that the continent ranked eight out of nine regions globally. It, however, said important gaps remain in advancing SSA’s AI readiness, particularly in the areas of AI infrastructure and public sector adoption.
The report noted that Nigeria, amongst the highest ranking countries globally from the continent, just stepped into the top 50 on Development and Diffusion (49th) and performed even better in policy capacity (coming 35th globally) following increased investment in its domestic AI sector, the launch of detailed AI policy documents and a stated intention to enhance efforts for international collaboration.
According to it, Ghana and Kenya may not have scored as highly in any one area but had good scores across indicators, with Kenya ranking 22nd globally for AI Resilience. Both are also shaping promising AI innovation ecosystems. It said Kenya has long been an innovation and startup hub for the continent. According to the consultancy Startup Genome, in 2024, startups based in Kenya secured $638 million in funding, representing nearly 29 per cent of the total capital raised across the continent.
Oxford Insight noted that 29 countries in the region now have strategies in place or under development, including Nigeria, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire – each of which has released AI strategies in the past year.
“All of the new strategies include actionable objectives, with Nigeria publishing a detailed roadmap including both long and short-term goals. Zambia and Mauritius have also set out plans for implementation alongside their existing strategies, with Mauritius dedicating a section of its recently published blueprint for digital transformation to include plans for AI, as well as mentioning a revised strategy in the future,” it stated.
The report informed that the region is also engaging with the ethical and security implications of AI, with the African Union identifying in its strategy the need for caution and many countries starting to explore how to manage AI explorations and implementation.
According to it, 14 countries in the region have AI ethics principles under development, but only Namibia has a published set of guidelines. Whilst 13 countries include a commitment to monitoring risks within their strategy, only four include a detailed risk assessment methodology. Only Kenya is a member of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes.
Meanwhile, at the 50th Convocation Ceremony of the University of Jos, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, announced the launch of the National AI Centre of Excellence located within the University campus.
