ATU Driving Africa’s Digital Unity, N-ATLAS Umoja Will Break Language Barriers – Tobe Okigbo
By Raphael Ekpang
Abuja (Core Reporters) -MTN Nigeria’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, Tobe Okigbo, has stressed that Africa’s future depends on stronger digital connectivity, describing it as the fastest and most practical path to achieving continental integration while physical infrastructure continues to develop.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 7th Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CPL-26), Okigbo said Africa faces enormous connectivity challenges that limit trade, communication, and economic integration among African countries.
According to him, while roads, railways, and other transport infrastructure remain essential, digital connectivity offers an immediate solution that allows Africans to communicate, collaborate, and conduct business seamlessly across borders.
He rcalled Aliko Dangote’s observation that it is often easier for Europeans to travel across Africa than for Africans themselves, describing the situation as a major obstacle to continental integration.
“We have all sorts of challenges across Africa. Dangote pointed out that it is easier for a businessman from Europe to travel across Africa than for him, as a Nigerian. That’s a problem. We have a connectivity issue.
“Connectivity can be physical through roads and railways, or it can be digital. While we work on solving the physical and logistics challenges, the easier and faster way is digital connectivity—the ability for me to pick up my phone and speak with someone in Johannesburg, Nairobi, Kinshasa, or Mombasa.”
Okigbo said this vision aligns with the core mandate of the African Telecommunications Union, which seeks to use technology to unite Africans and deepen continental cooperation.
“That goes to the root of what the ATU is trying to achieve. We are having conversations about how Africa can get closer and become more connected. Africa has the youngest population in the world. We must connect our young people so they can build the cohesion needed to move the continent forward.”
Commenting on the unveiling of N-ATLAS Umoja, Nigeria’s indigenous artificial intelligence initiative, Okigbo described the platform as a significant step towards making AI inclusive for Africans by supporting indigenous languages.
He noted that many existing AI platforms are built around foreign languages and contexts, leaving millions of Africans excluded from the benefits of emerging technologies.
“The danger with AI today is bias and exclusion because much of what is being built is not in our languages.
“What Nigeria has done is to make AI ours by building it around our own languages. Having started with the major Nigerian languages, the next step is expanding to the major African languages so more people can participate in the AI revolution.”
He commended Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, for championing the initiative, saying it reflects a commitment to ensuring Africa plays an active role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
Okigbo also praised the ATU Secretary-General for rallying African countries behind a shared commitment to democratise AI and ensure that language is no longer a barrier to digital inclusion.
“The commitment is to work together so that whether someone speaks Swahili, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, or any other African language, AI will be able to communicate with them in their own language.
“N-ATLAS Umoja started in Nigeria, but its vision is continental. It is about enabling Africans to talk to one another, build stronger cohesion, and create the digital foundation needed for Africa’s development,” he said.
Core Reporters reports that it was a colourful affair on Thursday night as delegates gathered at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa for the conference gala night.
