President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday warned that developing countries risk surrendering control of their future unless they move from merely consuming technology to producing it, creating knowledge and owning intellectual property.
Tinubu, who declared that “a nation that owns no technology risks renting its future”, challenged BRICS countries to deepen cooperation with developing economies in artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, fintech, telecommunications, cybersecurity, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing.
The President spoke at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India, in an address delivered on his behalf by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation comprising 11 major emerging market and developing countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Tinubu said Nigeria was determined to leverage its youthful population and growing innovation ecosystem to become a producer rather than merely a consumer of emerging technologies.
“We welcome deeper BRICS cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, fintech, telecommunications, cybersecurity, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing, because developing countries must produce technology, create knowledge and own intellectual property. A nation that owns no technology risks renting its future,” Tinubu said.
The President identified Nigeria’s young and dynamic population as one of its greatest assets, saying its creativity and enterprise were already driving the country’s innovation agenda.
He said his administration was investing in digital skills, entrepreneurship, research, artificial intelligence and technology-enabled businesses through initiatives such as 3MTT, Project BRIDGE and national AI programmes.
“As Project BRIDGE expands broadband, fibre and digital public services, we seek an open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystem that advances innovation, digital trade, responsible artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity,” he said.
Tinubu said Nigeria viewed its relationship with BRICS as a practical platform for securing investment, technology transfer and human-capital development rather than merely another forum for diplomatic dialogue.
“Nigeria sees cooperation with BRICS as a practical opportunity for trade, investment, technology transfer, and human-capital development. We support partnerships in infrastructure, connectivity, energy, agriculture, healthcare, education, and industrialisation, backed by development finance”, he said.
Beyond technology, the President called for an urgent overhaul of global governance structures and international financial institutions, arguing that the international system must better reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.
He said the transformation championed by BRICS should extend to the international system, particularly the United Nations Security Council and global financial architecture.
“Nigeria supports a more representative, equitable and responsive global governance architecture, including reform of the United Nations Security Council and the international financial system.
“BRICS amplifies the voice of the Global South and advances a more inclusive international order, consistent with Nigeria’s call for institutions that reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities,” he said.
Tinubu consequently made a case for “a BRICS partnership that moves from dialogue to delivery, from commitments to implementation, and from cooperation to measurable development outcomes”.
The President also invited foreign investors to take advantage of opportunities in Nigeria, urging them to see the country as a gateway to Africa’s expanding market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He defined economic resilience for Nigeria as building an economy capable of withstanding global shocks while creating sustainable opportunities for citizens.
Tinubu said the objective was embedded in his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda through reforms aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability, diversifying production, raising productivity, expanding infrastructure and human capital, attracting investment, promoting private-sector-led growth and deepening climate resilience.
“We welcome BRICS cooperation in trade, agriculture, food security, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare and critical minerals, especially partnerships that advance technology transfer, local value addition, industrial capacity and employment”, he said.
On climate change, Tinubu said Nigeria’s sustainability model sought to balance climate action with the development aspirations of emerging economies.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for affordable climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building for Africa, while seeking greater cooperation in renewable energy, gas, clean technologies, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable infrastructure and responsible critical-mineral development.
The President said climate responsibility should contribute to broader economic growth rather than become an obstacle to the development ambitions of emerging economies.
Tinubu expressed Nigeria’s readiness to contribute to a BRICS partnership resilient enough to withstand global shocks, innovative enough to embrace the future and cooperative enough to advance shared prosperity while protecting future generations.
“Our partnerships must create jobs, expand trade, transfer technology, and strengthen our nations’ productive capacity. We must build a future in which Africa moves from the margins of global development to the frontiers of global growth and innovation,” he said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said confidence in BRICS among countries of the Global South had grown because their voices were being heard, their experiences respected and solutions developed with them rather than for them.
Modi said the strength of BRICS lay in its diversity and cooperation, noting that the bloc was expanding participation beyond governments to entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women and young people.
“We may be rooted in different realities, but together, we rise through cooperation and blossom for humanity,” he said.
The Indian Prime Minister said initiatives such as BRICS CONNECT, the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal and the BRICS Urban Mobility Hub were designed to promote skills, employment, enterprise development and knowledge-sharing among member and partner countries.
Modi also stressed the need to balance development with environmental responsibility, saying sustainability must remain central to BRICS cooperation and the interests of future generations.
