Nigeria's Shettima Drives African Unity and AI Ambitions

Kashim Shettima African Telecommunications Union ATLAS Network IMF AI recognition Benin industrial cooperation

Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister of Communications Bosun Tijani used the Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference in Abuja to call for stronger continental cooperation on telecommunications, digital policy and artificial intelligence. Shettima stressed that Africa’s future competitiveness depends on shared broadband, AI, cloud and satellite infrastructure, and urged unified action to shape global digital regulations. The conference also saw the launch of the ATLAS Network, a collaborative platform to train large‑language models on African languages and knowledge, expanding Nigeria’s earlier N‑ATLAS project.

Separately, Shettima led a high‑level visit to Benin’s Glo‑Djigbé Industrial Zone, affirming bilateral ties and pledging cooperation on economic development, regional integration and security. Benin’s President Romuald Wadagni received the delegation, and both sides highlighted the zone as a model for agro‑industrial transformation.

The International Monetary Fund later recognised Nigeria as one of Africa’s leading AI economies, citing the National AI Strategy, AI Trust, AI Collective, the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub, the 3 Million Technical Talent programme and Project BRIDGE as key initiatives. Nigerian officials also warned that African governments must invest in sovereign AI infrastructure to retain the economic value of locally generated data. In Rivers State, the National Population Commission began a digital birth‑and‑death registration rollout using the VitalReg platform, part of a broader push to modernise public‑service data systems.

Entities: African Telecommunications Union · Aminu Maida · Bosun Tijani · Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia · International Monetary Fund · Kashim Shettima · Romuald Wadagni

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Nigeria announced the ATLAS Network to develop large‑language models trained on African languages and knowledge. (ATU conference announcement)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Benin's Glo‑Djigbé Industrial Zone on 24 July 2026. (Benin‑Nigeria cooperation visit)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Nigeria’s National Population Commission began a digital birth‑and‑death registration rollout in Rivers State using the VitalReg platform. (Press briefing)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Nigeria and Benin agreed to strengthen cooperation on economic development, regional integration and security. (Bilaterial agreement)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Nigeria’s AI initiatives include a National AI Strategy, AI Trust, AI Collective, Nigeria AI Scaling Hub, 3 Million Technical Talent programme and Project BRIDGE. (Minister Bosun Tijani briefing)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The International Monetary Fund recognized Nigeria as one of Africa’s leading artificial‑intelligence economies. (IMF statement)
[○ 1 SOURCE] African governments are urged to invest in sovereign AI infrastructure to retain the economic value of locally generated data. (Opinion piece by Cassava Technologies executive)
[● 3 SOURCES] Nigeria called for stronger African unity in telecommunications and digital policy at the ATU conference in Abuja. (ATU conference speech)