Nigeria must align its policy frameworks and infrastructure investments to harness the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging digital technologies by 2026, an ICT expert has said.
Mr Jide Awe, an ICT expert, made this known on Monday in an interview with reporters in Abuja while outlining the ICT outlook for 2026 and its implications for Nigeria’s digital transformation.
He said Nigeria was well positioned to benefit from AI, IoT and cloud technologies, noting that effective deployment could help address challenges in the financial sector, improve public service delivery and drive economic growth.
According to Awe, governance systems stand to benefit from scalable automation, smarter decision-making and wider access to digital services. However, he warned that the digital divide remains a major concern in the absence of deliberate and inclusive policies.
“There is significant opportunity and growing demand for intelligent IoT applications in Nigeria’s power, agriculture, transportation and security sectors.
“These gains also increase cybersecurity risks, making strict security systems that do not automatically trust any user or device, along with strong local data protection and privacy measures, increasingly important,” he said.
Awe said cloud and edge computing were well suited to Nigeria’s connectivity realities, enabling real-time processing in low-connectivity environments and lowering barriers for startups in agriculture, fintech, education and health.
He added that Extended Reality (XR) technologies could be adopted for skills training and infrastructure planning, while cybersecurity could become a national economic priority as digital adoption expands and more critical services move online.
On AI, Awe said it would form the foundation of future digital systems, shaping economies as the focus shifts from simple assistants to autonomous, multi-agent systems capable of planning and executing complex workflows across business functions.
“AI is also moving into hardware, edge devices and wearables. This will enable faster on-device processing and reduce reliance on cloud connectivity.
“IoT is evolving from basic connectivity into intelligent, AI-driven systems capable of analyzing data and acting autonomously, especially at the edge,” he said.
He noted that as billions of devices become essential to daily operations, strong security measures based on a ‘zero-trust’ approach, alongside advanced encryption, would be critical.
Awe said smart villages and cities, industrial automation and advanced transport systems would benefit from faster networks, multi-cloud models and advanced sensors.
He also said cloud computing was becoming more flexible and increasingly suitable for handling sensitive information in compliance with regulatory requirements.
On robotics and physical AI, Awe said the technologies were expanding to enable real-world tasks in manufacturing, logistics and service sectors.
According to him, physical AI would move from rigid programming to systems that understand natural language and learn by observing humans, while robotics would improve productivity, enhance safety and enable round-the-clock autonomous operations.
Awe noted that XR tools such as virtual reality, augmented reality and digital twins were already optimizing operations across various sectors.
“As AI and IoT expand, cybersecurity is shifting toward AI-driven threat detection, automated responses and systems that assume no device or user is automatically trusted.
“At the same time, these technologies create new risks, including AI-powered attacks, ransomware targeting critical infrastructure and privacy breaches,” he said.
He added that AI, IoT and cloud-edge computing would transform enterprise operations through automation and personalization, stressing that resilience and competitive advantage would depend on coordinated AI ecosystems across hybrid and multi-vendor environments.
According to Awe, responsible innovation would drive efficiency, growth and new opportunities.
He said Nigeria could also leverage energy-efficient hardware, low-power networks and low-emission operations, noting that Green IoT could enable real-time monitoring of energy, water and waste through smart grids and related technologies.
Awe warned that unequal access to AI, IoT and cloud computing could reinforce social and economic inequalities, stressing that technological progress would only be meaningful if it was inclusive.
“The outlook for technology is bright; however, Nigeria’s long-term success will depend on sustained infrastructure investment, reliable power supply, broadband expansion, inclusion and equity, cybersecurity readiness and inclusive digital education.
“While the technologies are real, governance, investment, leadership commitment and an innovative mindset among the population must be equally strong,” he said.
