Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, showcased newly launched Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS) on the sideline of the ongoing 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) in New York, yesterday.

This is as the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, urged stronger collaboration between the government and the private sector as a pathway to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential and sustaining reforms.

Tijani, who described the product as proof that Africa was not just catching up in artificial intelligence (AI), but actively shaping its future, described N-ATLAS as more than a language model, calling it a national commitment to unity, inclusion, and global contribution.

According to him, the N-ATLAS is a multilingual, multimodal, open-source large language model (LLM) designed to map and digitise Nigeria’s rich linguistic heritage while building datasets to power inclusive AI solutions.

Tijani posited that by digitising Nigeria’s rich linguistic diversity, the project places African voices at the heart of the global AI revolution.

ON his part, Sanusi II, speaking on Wednesday at a high-level summit on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, stressed that Nigeria could not rely solely on government spending to achieve lasting growth.

“The private sector must be given a central role in driving growth and attracting the investments needed to transform the economy,” he said, noting that public-private partnerships (PPPs) remained vital to national development. He emphasised that modern and reliable infrastructure was essential to meeting the aspirations of millions of Nigerians.