An African proverb goes: “When elders sit together, words are not counted but weighed.” “When value circulates locally, trust is strengthened and communities remain stable.”
Much of today’s global conversation is shaped by new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and social media, and the impact these forces have on democracy, peace, security, geopolitics, integration, and economic development. Digital platforms are revolutionizing the world faster than many institutions can keep up. They intensify the battle for minds and hearts as they shape public opinion.
New to the boardroom, AI is rapidly gaining global attention. This will shape many areas, including drone warfare, surveillance systems, medical records management systems, diagnostics, digital libraries, trade flows, border operations, telecommunications, traffic regulation, social interactions, personal data profiling, and more. In these areas of interaction, trust is gently built and broken.
Simply put! AI is increasingly being deployed to shape the global narrative of how we live, work, and interact. My guess is that AI will profoundly change and shape data, digital infrastructure, and communications hardware and software, now and in the future. Therefore, establishing a continent-wide agreement on AI governance and data sovereignty is essential to harnessing the benefits while mitigating potential harms.
Africa’s reality and shortcomings
Technology and the internet are not Africa’s weakest link. Rather, the real constraints are internet access and affordability, policy alignment, people’s skill sets, incentives, and organizational ownership. If Africa exports raw data but imports sophisticated intelligence, the value of data governance will ultimately belong to the jurisdiction of the manufacturer. This undermines Africa’s infrastructure resilience and data sovereignty.
Technology alone cannot create data sovereignty. The two must run at the same time. African governments cannot pursue technological advances as long as data sovereignty is stored on rented computers outside their jurisdiction. Africans should not become passive users while machines learn. They must also become innovators, developers, and sovereigns of technology.
AI is a powerful conversation: Africans must embrace AI
AI is no longer just a technology conversation. It’s a powerful conversation. The question is not whether AI will shape our worldview. That’s already the case. What Africans should be concerned about is whether AI will expand the frontiers of governance, continental trade and integration, or whether it will polarize and fragment regional blocs by default.
Those who develop and manage the data will ultimately decide on the autonomy of AI data and set the governance framework and contract terms. The value proposition of AI governance in Africa is based on data sovereignty. AI in Africa will be measured by data standards and analytical pooling that will deliver real value at a regional scale and competitiveness globally.
Africa will need AI applications to power several sectors of its economy. governance, peace, security, early warning, etc. cross-border integration and mobility, trade and the provision of social services. Technology, communication and interoperability. Community resilience to epidemics. Fraud and criminal activity detection. Local language translations, recommendations based on climate information, energy and important minerals. Agriculture, Health and Education. Ethical and regulatory considerations. And some smarter policy targeting.
In this context, AI and data sovereignty must be supported by clearly defined safeguards that protect national security, including robust and comprehensive data protection regimes, algorithmic security, content moderation, and software assurance for governments and users.
Why are AI and data sovereignty important for African integration, peace and security?
First, the local reality. Where do African states and non-state actors sit within the AI ecosystem? Are Africans simply consumers, content creators and disseminators, or are they developers and innovators? Given that a large proportion of Africa’s population is young, digitally active and connected to technology, there is a need to position and promote Africa as a driver and developer of technology and innovation.
Second, digital platforms, including AI, enable development. They support trade and integration, peace, security and economic justice. For example, ECOWAS Vision 2050 is based on the ambitious goal of achieving “people-centred governance,” regional integration, and democratic consolidation.
Thirdly, there is a connection between research and policy. Researchers working on new technologies in Africa and across the Global South often find their work forced into specific frameworks that do not fully reflect local realities, constraints, and priorities, or sidelined entirely.
Fourth, Africans must question the assumptions of AI. Governments and users need to conduct reflective analysis that questions common assumptions about AI and new technologies. This includes research that identifies limitations, trade-offs, and ethical concerns through grounded contextual analysis.
Fifth, technologically enabled battlefields are often invisible. These are typically encrypted in code, cloud chips, or external firmware built into routers and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Cheap, off-the-shelf technologies can multiply strategic threats if left unmanaged. Across Africa, drone and self-driving accidents are already showing a consistent and alarming pattern. Over-reliance on AI can reduce critical thinking, scholarship, and innovation. Therefore, balance is key.
Sixth, technology adoption is outpacing regulation. User privacy must start with informed consent. Interactions with AI and other new technologies can quietly compromise user consent. It’s no secret that metadata is not harmless. Large amounts of personal demographic information constitute surveillance. Therefore, privacy, dignity, safety and sovereignty must be the watchdogs of governments and users of digital platforms.
What Africa’s real breakthrough and AI success mean
Success on the continent doesn’t start with the pilots. Rather, it starts by expanding what is already working in at least one member state. Success must be framed as measurable public value, rooted in faster service, lower transaction costs, improved targeting, less leakage, and greater trust through peer learning.
Future-ready approaches: key considerations
Our collective future will be judged by how wisely we adopt, adapt, and make data sovereignty and resilience our own in the age of AI, rather than copying external models without context. The lesson for African governments is to balance and focus on five areas: innovation, development, participation, distribution and harmonization. This includes the following considerations:
Policy and strategic alignment: The African Union (AU) should rekindle implementation of the 2014 Malabo Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection. We need regional trust and stack action plans on cybersecurity, data governance, and digital infrastructure. Equally important are citizen communications agreements that protect public trust and counter disinformation and digital threats.
Regional identity: Africa’s path to data sovereignty must be rooted in African intelligence. Technology must be designed for local needs, built by African talent, and globally scalable. Technology and innovation will be more effective if they are rooted in African identity, language and experience. Lessons can be learned from Awarri, a Nigerian AI startup that shows what intelligent sovereignty really looks like. Indigenizing Africa means local data, local languages, and local jobs. Africa’s exemplary success story will depend on how Africa moves across borders through interoperability or remains locked within national silos.
Building a talent pipeline: Africa needs to invest significant funds to build a strong network of AI labs, producers, and innovators. Regional AI research labs must be methodologically robust, context-based, and connected to applied innovation and policy needs, while respecting the autonomy and intellectual property rights of producers and innovators.
Regional studies colloquia: Regional blocs should establish forums where young and mid-career researchers can engage in depth with questions of context, method, and power. And their work is intellectually ambitious, whether exploratory or forward-thinking, and grounded in the lived realities and experiences of Africans.
Global Knowledge Exchange: The AI Research and Development Forum between the Global North and the Global South provides a neutral space for innovators, policy makers, and researchers to exchange ideas and connect technological advances to real-world development challenges.
conclusion
To capitalize on these growth poles, African governments need to strategically advance AI, technology and communications and position Agenda 2063 in conjunction with digital policies, infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, connectivity and telecommunications across member states. Such an approach requires patience, coordination, financial commitment, and long-term commitment.
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The author holds a PhD in Human Security, Democratic Policing and Public Safety and is the Director of Media for Democracy and Good Governance at the West African Media Foundation. Email: impraim.kojo.nana@gmail.com
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Disclaimer: The views, comments, opinions, contributions and statements made by readers and contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Multimedia Group Limited.
