The news
- Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Innovation, Dr. Bosun Tijani, joins Time’s 2025 list of 100 most influential people in AI.
- He is recognised for championing inclusive and locally driven AI development in Nigeria.
- The recognition affirms Nigeria’s growing leadership in the development of inclusive and responsible AI.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has been listed among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in AI for 2025. His inclusion places Nigeria in the global spotlight as a country with growing ambitions in artificial intelligence, particularly through inclusive and ethically guided frameworks.
Tijani joins the ranks of global AI figures like Elon Musk (xAI), Sam Altman (OpenAI), and Matthew Prince (Cloudflare), a recognition tied to his leadership in developing Nigeria’s National AI Strategy (NAIS). In April 2024, he convened more than 120 AI researchers, startups, and public sector leaders to co-create a framework that aims to steer responsible and context-driven AI adoption across key sectors, including agriculture, education, and healthcare.
Soon after, the Nigerian government introduced a prototype multilingual large language model (LLM), focused on local languages and accented English. The model was built in collaboration with fellows from the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and supported by organisations including Google, Microsoft, and Meta, with $3.5 million in seed funding.
Additional milestones include the launch of a ₦100 million AI fund for startups in partnership with Google in September 2024, followed by a $1.5 million AI fund backed by the Luminate Group. These efforts were designed to promote research and innovation, while the formation of a National AI Trust and the AI Collective added layers of governance and community building.
In June 2025, Nigeria partnered with Meta to launch the Nigeria AI Accelerator Programme. Running through December 2025, the initiative aims to support AI startups solving local problems in education, agriculture, fintech, and healthcare.
But while the accolades are significant, there is growing concern over the gap between Nigeria’s AI ambitions and actual implementation. Despite the visibility gained through high-profile partnerships and strategy announcements, concrete outcomes remain limited. The National AI Strategy has yet to be finalised or publicly rolled out. Similarly, the multilingual LLM, though symbolically powerful, is not yet integrated into any national platforms.
Tijani’s recognition may reflect the promise of his vision more than tangible delivery. Some argue that while Nigeria has successfully positioned itself in global conversations, local stakeholders still await the tangible impact of these initiatives in the real world.
“This honour is a reflection of the collective effort of innovators and partners who believe in the potential of AI to transform societies,” Tijani said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
