The Protagonist of Data Governance as well as Regulatory Frameworks in Fostering an AI Ecosystem for Profitable Development in Nigeria

Abstract

- The growing concern of Artificial Intelligence as a grave catalyst for macroeconomic change in evolving Nigeria markets because the lack of context explicit physical mechanisms leaks the digital landscape to momentous systemic threats (Achebo, 2025). So in this review we scrutinizes the role of regulatory frameworks as well as data governance as the central character in founding an comprehensive, forceful and thriftily dynamic AI biota in Nigeria.(Shetty et al., 2025). This study explores Nigeria's recent regulatory initiatives, especially the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, (Papagiannidis et al., 2025)the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) 2024, along with the planned National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill, utilizing a qualitative, doctrinal socio-legal methodology. The findings demonstrate that despite Nigeria's implementation of basic legal frameworks, many obstacles still remain, notably institutional silos, considerable enforcement gaps, algorithmic exclusion in national identity systems, and a lack of infrastructure (Eke et al., 2022). The report offers an empirical analysis of Nigeria's multi-sector AI adoption preparedness and creates a Risk-Proportionate Context-Adaptive Governance Model. This model achieves a balance between technological development and ethical responsibility. The study concludes that uniform, (Babalola, 2022)legally enforceable AI-specific regulations are essential to avoiding data misuse, securing foreign direct investment, and safely facilitating AI-driven economic growth in Nigeria.