Focus on Africa Who is "in charge" of Africa's AI?
Jan 21, 2026
Helen Oyibo, BBC reporter with on-the-ground Ogoniland coverage. Hilda Baraza, researcher on AI sovereignty and policy in Africa. They discuss who controls AI infrastructure and policy across the continent. They report on Nigeria’s plans to resume drilling in Ogoniland and the enduring environmental and community impacts.
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Sovereignty Is Agency, Not Ownership
- AI sovereignty means a country's agency to choose and shape partnerships rather than owning every layer of AI infrastructure.
- Hilda Baraza argues sovereignty is political and shows up in procurement, audits and the ability to adapt systems.
Full Self-Sufficiency Is Rare
- Full self-sufficiency means controlling the entire AI stack: data centres, models, data and energy inputs.
- Baraza says few countries can realistically achieve that level of control over every AI layer.
Policies Focus On Dependency Risks
- African AI policies often treat dependency as a national security risk focusing on data and infrastructure sovereignty.
- Baraza notes sovereignty manifests in ordinary decisions like procurement and auditing capabilities.