Nigeria has the talent to lead Africa in GenAI and ML solutions – Orivri

Onome Orivri is a Nigerian platform and DevSecOps engineer, one of very few such experts in the world, with about 20 years of experience building reliable, secure systems in the United Kingdom and the United States for telecoms, government/defence, and global finance players. Orivri has led cloud and data platforms at T. Rowe Price and has worked with Vodafone and Cisco. He says he is passionate about taking what works in mature markets, where he has built an enviable career, and adapting it to Nigeria. In this interview with JOHN SALAU, he discussed the tech talents in Nigeria, global trends Nigeria could adopt that will accelerate development, some of the challenges hindering the country’s full tech potential, and the latest cybersecurity issues organisations need to watch. He also has a piece of advice for young Nigerian tech talents. Excerpts:

You are one of very few professionals in your field. What opportunities are there for young Nigerians who may want to build a career in that space?

I’ve spent almost 20 years building secure cloud and AI platforms in the UK and US. The same opportunities exist here if young Nigerians focus on the right skills—data and ML engineering, platform engineering, and applied AI for local challenges like payments, agriculture, and energy. My advice: don’t just chase certificates—learn Python, Linux, Git, Cloud, Kubernetes, Terraform, and actually ship projects. Employers value results, not buzzwords.

How does a tech professional like yourself stay updated with new technologies and tools?

I treat learning as part of the job. Every quarter I focus on one new tool, one upgrade, and one security theme. I track release notes, follow expert communities, and most importantly, I test things hands-on. Breaking and fixing a system teaches me more than any article.

Do you think Nigeria is developing enough tech talents to challenge the rest of the world?

The talent is here. What’s missing is the conversion into industry-ready professionals. We need proper apprenticeships, shared computing resources, and better links to global opportunities. If we fix those gaps, Nigeria can compete—and even lead—in digital capabilities.

Why do you think Africa lags behind in tech growth?

It’s not talent—it’s environment. We deal with high infrastructure costs, patchy power, and inconsistent policies. Procurement often rewards talk over delivery. To catch up, we need stable policies, shared infrastructure, and contracts that pay for uptime and reliability, not just proposals.

You once mentioned that Nigeria can build digital services other countries will pay to use. What are some of these services?

Services around payments, identity, and fraud detection are clear opportunities. Agriculture and energy solutions also have export potential—think climate intelligence APIs, or fintech tools for prepaid power. And we shouldn’t forget African language AI models, which can power contact centres and digital services across the continent.

Read also: Leveraging GenAI in wealth management

What challenges may hinder the country from achieving this?

The big ones are unreliable power, expensive infrastructure, inconsistent regulation, and cybersecurity gaps. We also have to avoid vendor lock-in. The solution is to build on open standards, strengthen security, and commit to maintaining systems—not just launching pilots.

Do you feel governments in Nigeria are adopting technology fast enough?

There are good examples, but overall, it’s too slow. The government needs dedicated delivery teams—engineers, product managers, security experts—who can move fast. Shared digital services like ID, payments, and notifications should be built once and reused everywhere.

Quantum computing is touted as a gamechanger. Will quantum have a similar or higher impact as GenAI in the coming years?

In the near term, GenAI will have the bigger impact—it’s already reshaping industries. Quantum will be transformative, but in specialised areas and over a longer horizon. For now, the real preparation is in post-quantum cryptography, making sure our systems are secure for that future.

What tech trends from other climes should Nigeria adopt to accelerate economic growth?

We should adopt digital public infrastructure—digital ID, instant payments, secure data exchange. Shared compute resources for startups and universities are also key. Add zero-trust security, open data for innovation, and FinOps to tie cloud spend to value, and we’ll see real acceleration.

What are the latest cybersecurity issues organisations need to be mindful of?

Supply-chain risks, MFA fatigue attacks, ransomware targeting backups, and API abuse are top threats today. With GenAI, we’re also seeing risks like prompt injection and data leakage. The fix is zero-trust security, signed software, posture management, and security built into every pipeline.

Beyond land registries, what blockchain use cases should governments pursue?

Company registries, public procurement, verifiable education certificates, healthcare claims, and trade documentation are strong use cases. The key is to start small, prove value, and scale gradually.

If Nigeria set up a National Compute Commons, what would it look like?

It would be shared GPU clusters and storage, managed with Kubernetes, open to startups and researchers. Access would be credit-based, with governance built in. It would host agriculture, health, and climate datasets, lowering barriers for innovation.

If you were asked to lead a Federal AI/Cloud Taskforce, what 12-month playbook would you execute?

In year one, I’d secure the cloud foundation, deliver a national MLOps platform, launch a Compute Commons pilot, and scale digital services like ID and payments. By the end of the year, we’d have working AI services for fraud detection, citizen engagement, and revenue protection—plus a new procurement model that pays for outcomes, not hours.

Any other thoughts?

Nigeria’s advantage is young talent and real problems at scale. If we build the right infrastructure, adopt open-source and cloud-native tools, and maintain consistent policies, we won’t just catch up—we’ll export solutions. That’s been the story of my career abroad, and it can be Nigeria’s story too.