Stakeholders seek rapid innovation, regulatory balance

As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates across the country, stakeholders at the ‘AI in Action Now’ conference 2026 have unanimously advocated a balance between rapid innovation and strict regulatory governance.

Themed: ‘Driving productivity, innovation and sustainability-building the future of AI together’, the conversation also dissected the doggedness of Nigerian builders and the risks of unregulated data usage.
  
In his speech, the co-founder of AI Nigeria, Dotun Adeoye, expressed concerns over ‘Shadow AI’, a trend where employees upload sensitive official documents to public AI platforms.
 
He lauded the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) for its recent aggressive stance, including multi-million-dollar fines against major banks and social media brands.
 
Saying innovation without governance is dangerous, he insisted the regulator now has the job of educating players. To Adeoye, “we are working in partnership with them to ensure players don’t just get fined, but actually understand how to protect data locally rather than storing it abroad.”

On her part, conference convener Debola Ibiyode admitted that while Nigeria lacks the traditional foundation for AI adoption, the tech community cannot afford to wait.

“The simple answer is we don’t have the infrastructure, but Nigeria has never really had infrastructure to drive anything, and we still thrive,” Iboyode said, encouraging students and builders to look beyond current limitations. “Once we start to build based on what we have now, it will encourage those who need to provide the infrastructure to do their part. The world will not wait for us,” she insisted.

To bridge this gap, she highlighted the AI Foundry Africa, an incubator designed to mentor ideas into market-ready products. Fielding questions from journalists on the sidelines, the Lagos State Commissioner of Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, echoed the sentiment that the government’s role is to facilitate the right environment through partnership. He emphasised that data generated from interactions with the government must have long-term value.

“We must ensure that in all facets from production to interaction with government, the tools required to ensure data has value are appreciated,” Ogunleye stated.

He concluded that through private-sector collaboration, the government can focus on its primary functions while leveraging AI to ensure the nation aspires for the future.