Nigeria Must Not Miss AI, 5G Revolution, Says Shettima At Hackathon Launch

Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday, said Nigeria cannot afford to remain on the sidelines of the global artificial intelligence and 5G revolution.

This came as he launched a four-month innovation hackathon aimed at positioning the country as a major supplier of digital solutions.

Speaking on Wednesday at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, the VP said the Connect NextGen Innovation Hackathon aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s job creation agenda by harnessing the country’s youth population for the digital economy.

“The current wave of the Industrial Revolution—powered by 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, IoT and sustainable technologies—is not a tide we can afford to watch from the shore. History is unkind to nations that choose the backseat in moments of transformation,” Shettima said through his representative at the event, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia.

The VP said the initiative, developed in partnership with Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson, will empower young talents, startups, and university students to build transformative solutions using cutting-edge technologies.

“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has placed job creation at the very top of his priorities. So, this hackathon is not an isolated event; it is a continuation of a national strategy.

“The Connect NextGen Innovation Hackathon is designed to deepen this reality—to make Nigeria a supplier of solutions to the world. A brilliant line of code written in Abuja can power a system in Stockholm; a solution imagined in Kano can transform a farm in Kenya,” he said.

The hackathon is part of the operationalisation of an agreement signed in 2024 between Ericsson and the Federal Government to digitally upskill Nigerian youths, policymakers and public sector decision makers in modern technologies.

Shettima noted that Nigeria’s greatest asset lies in its human capital rather than natural resources, adding that the country’s demographic dividend tilts decisively in favour of youth.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, pledged the ministry’s support for the hackathon in various areas, including commercialisation, competition, research and innovation outcomes.

He described the launch as proof that agreements and MOUs between Nigeria and international partners would translate into activities and investments running into multi-billion dollars.

Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, praised Nigeria’s digital sector as one of the most dynamic and promising innovation ecosystems on the African continent.

She explained that the launch is a powerful illustration of what public-private collaboration can achieve, even as she noted that “through the Hackathon and the Educate Program, Ericsson, a private company proudly rooted in Sweden, is partnering with Nigerian institutions to equip young people, students and civil servants with the skills needed to navigate and lead in the fast-changing global economy.”

‘Nigeria’s partnership with Ericsson demonstrates how the Swedish private sector contributes to national development priorities by combining technological leadership with long-term commitment and strong local collaboration. We are proud that the Swedish technology and Swedish values of openness and partnership and trust contribute to Nigeria’s development ambitions,” the envoy stated.

On his part, the Country Manager of Ericsson Nigeria, Mr. Peter Olusoji Ogundele, said the initiatives represent a concrete step in delivering on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024 between Ericsson and the Federal Government to boost innovation, skills development and the digital economy.

According to him, Ericsson’s over 40 years of operations in Nigeria and nearly 150 years globally have helped build trusted networks from fixed telephony and GSM to broadband, 5G, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

He explained that the Ericsson National Hackathon is designed to unlock the creativity of Nigerian youths by equipping them with world-class tools to solve real national challenges in areas such as food security, smart cities and digital inclusion.

On the Ericsson Educate Programme for Policymakers, Mr. Ogundele said it is tailored to enhance the digital competence of government officials, enabling evidence-based policymaking and stronger governance in the digital economy.

The Ericsson Nigeria boss reaffirmed the company’s commitment to partnering with the President Bola Tinubu administration to advance its digital transformation agenda, empower youths and policymakers, and build a digital economy that leaves no one behind.

Also speaking, Special Assistant to the President on ICT Policy, Dr. Salihu Ibrahim Dasuki, said Nigeria and Sweden had been partners, and have sustained that private sector for quite some time.

He said the launch is also in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as it will not only be training but will also offer employment to the youth.

On her part, the Special Assistant to the President on Project Support, Suhdah Ahmed, said the launch shows how innovation ecosystems are built by connecting knowledge, capital, policy and market.