Artificial Intelligence: Africa Governments must adopt, adapt, and indigenise, but do not copy and past

An African aphorism says, “When elders sit together, words are weighed, not counted.” “And when value circulates locally, trust deepens, and community stability holds.”

Much of today’s global conversation is shaped by new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and social media. Many of these technological ‘invasions’ impact democracy, peace, security, geopolitics, integration, and economic development. Digital platforms are revolutionising the world at a pace faster than many institutions can match. They intensify the battle for the minds and hearts while shaping public opinion.

The new baby in the boardroom, AI, has quickly gained global prominence. It shapes many sectors, including drone warfare, surveillance systems, medical records management systems, diagnostic, digital libraries, trade flows, border operations, telecommunications, traffic regulations, social interactions, and the profiling of personal data. In these spheres of interaction, trust is built or broken softly.

Simply put, AI is increasingly being deployed to shape global narratives—the way we live, the way we work, and the way we interact. I estimate that AI will significantly alter and shape the hardware and software of data and digital infrastructure and communication, now and in the future. It is therefore essential that we establish a continental consensus on AI governance and data sovereignty to enable us to harness the benefits while mitigating the potential harms.

The African reality and drawbacks

Technology and the internet are not Africa’s weakest link. Rather, the real constraints are accessible and affordable internet, policy alignment, people’s skill sets, incentives, and institutional ownership. When Africa exports raw data but imports refined intelligence, the value of data governance ultimately accrues to the manufacturer’s jurisdiction. This undermines Africa’s infrastructural resilience and data sovereignty.

Technology alone does not produce data sovereignty. The two must run concurrently. African governments cannot pursue technology advancement while their data sovereignty is stored on rented computers outside their jurisdiction. Africans must not be passive users while machines are learning. They must also become technologically innovators, developers, and sovereign.

AI is a power dialogue: Africans must embrace it

AI is no longer merely a technology dialogue. It is a power dialogue. The question is not whether AI will shape our worldview. It already does. What should concern Africans is whether or not AI will expand the frontiers of governance, continental trade and integration or AI will polarise and fragment the regional blocs by default.

Whoever develops and controls data will ultimately dictate AI data autonomy, set the governance framework, and the terms of engagement. The value proposition for AI governance in Africa rests on data sovereignty. Africa’s AI will be measured by data standards and analytics pooling that deliver real value at the regional scale and global competitiveness.

Africa will need AI applications that will strengthen several sectors of the economy. Such as governance, peace, security, and early warning; borderless integration and mobility, trade and social service delivery; technology, communication, and interoperability; regional resilience against epidemics; detection of fraud and criminality; local language translation, climate-informed advisory, energy and critical minerals; agriculture, health, education; ethical and regulatory considerations; and several smarter policy targeting.

In this context, AI and data sovereignty should operate on well-defined safeguards that protect national security, through robust and comprehensive data protection regimes, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance for governments and users.

Why AI and data sovereignty matters to Africa’s integration, peace, and security?

First, local realities. Where can African states and non-state actors be located within the AI ecosystem? Are Africans just consumers, content creators, and disseminators or are they developers and innovators? Given that Africa’s population is largely youthful, digitally active, and technologically connected, they must be positioned and propelled to become technology and innovation-drivers and developers.  

Second, digital platforms, including AI are enablers of development. They support trade and integration, peace, security and economic justice. For example, ECOWAS Vision 2050 is anchored on these ambitious targets to achieve “people-centred governance”, regional integration, and democratic consolidation.

Third, the research and policy nexus. Researchers working with new technologies in Africa and across the Global South often find their work forced to fit into certain frameworks that do not fully reflect local realities, constraints, or priorities or are pushed aside altogether.

Fourth, Africans must question the assumptions of AI: Governments and users ought to conduct reflective analyses that question prevailing assumptions of AI and new technologies. This includes research that reveals limitations, trade-offs, and ethical concerns through grounded and contextual analysis.

Fifth, technology-enabled battlefieldsareoften invisible. These are usually encrypted in code, cloud chips, and foreign firmware embedded in routers and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Cheap, off-the-shelf technologies can become strategic threat multipliers when left ungoverned. Across Africa, drone and autonomous incidents already show consistent warning patterns. Overreliance on AI can reduce critical thinking, scholarship, and innovation. Balance is therefore essential.

Sixth, technology adoption is outpacing regulation. Users’ privacy must begin with informed consent.  Interactions with AI and other new technologies can silently erode users’ consent. It is common knowledge that metadata is not harmless. Large volumes of personal demographic information amount to surveillance. Therefore, privacy, dignity, safety, and sovereignty must be the watchdogs of governments and users of digital platforms.

Real leap for Africa and what AI success means

Continental success does not begin with pilots. Rather, it begins with scaling what already works in at least one member State. Success must be framed as measurable public value,     anchored on faster services, lower transaction costs, improved targeting, fewer leakages, and stronger trust through peer learning.

A future-ready approach: Key considerations

Our collective future will be judged by how wisely we adopt, adapt, and indigenise data sovereignty and resilience in the age of AI, rather than copying external models without context. The lesson for African governments should be balance and anchored in five areas: innovation, development, participation, distribution, and harmonisation. This will include the following considerations:

Policy and strategic alignment: The African Union (AU) should rekindle the implementation of the 2014 Malabo Convention on cybersecurity and personal data protection. A Regional Trust and Stack Action Plan on cybersecurity, data governance, and digital infrastructure is required. A Citizen Communication Compact that protects public trust and counters disinformation and digital threats is equally vital.

Local identity: The route to Africa’s data sovereignty should be rooted in Africa’s intelligence. Technology should be designed for local needs, built by African talent, and scalable globally. When technology and innovation is rooted in African identity, language, and experience, it becomes more effective. A lesson can be learned from “Awarri”, a Nigerian AI startup, which shows what intelligent sovereignty looks like in practice. African indigenisation means local data, local languages, and local jobs. Africa’s model success story will be determined by how it travels across borders through interoperability or remains confined within national silos.

Building talent pipelines:  Africa should build a strong network of AI labs, producers, and innovators with significant financial injections. Regional AI research labs must be methodologically robust, contextually grounded, and connected to applied innovation and policy needs, while respecting producers and innovators’ autonomy and intellectual ownership.

Regional research colloquia: Regional blocs should establish forums where early-and mid-career researchers can engage deeply with questions of context, methods, and power. And whose work, whether exploratory or advanced, is intellectually ambitious and grounded in lived-realities and experiences of Africans.

Global knowledge exchange: AI research and development forum between the Global North and Global South would provide a neutral space for innovators, policymakers, and researchers to exchange ideas and connect technological advances to real development challenges.

Conclusion

To harness these growth poles, African Governments must position their Agenda 2063 in such a manner that it is strategically driven by AI, technology and communication, and aligned with digital policies, infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, connectivity, and telecommunications across member States. Such an approach requires patience, coordination, financial injection and long-term commitment.

The writer holds a PhD in Human Security, Democratic Policing and Public Safety & Director, Media for Democracy and Good Governance at the Media Foundation for West Africa. Email: [email protected]