‘Weak Leadership, Legacy Mindsets, Bane of Africa’s Layback in Leading Digital Revolution’

Emma Okonji

The Chief Information Officer of MTN Nigeria, Shoyinka Shodunke, has advanced reasons why Africa, despite its youthful population that is highly digitally savvy, cannot lead in the ongoing fourth digital revolution.

According to him, Africa as a continent, is still struggling with the challenges of weak leadership and legacy mindsets, insisting that Africa, giving its huge population and determination to learn new things, has a rare opportunity to lead and participate in the global fourth digital revolution, provided it overcomes hesitation, legacy mindsets, and weak leadership. 

Shodunke said this in Lagos at the Tech Revolution Africa 2.0 Conference, during a keynote session themed: ‘The Digital Economy Forecast for 2026’. 

Shodunke referenced Africa’s historical experience with past industrial revolutions, and warned against the tendency of repeating old mistakes.

“Africa was completely missing from the first industrial revolution. In the second, we were only providers of raw materials, and in the third, we were merely consumers. When Africa hesitated in the first, second and third revolutions, Africa lost out, and history punished Africa,” he said. 

Shodunke stressed that the fourth digital revolution presents a different reality, driven by data, cloud computing, and talent rather than heavy capital investments.

“The inputs today are data, cloud, and talent. The factory now sits in the cloud. For the very first time, Africa has an opportunity not just to participate, but to lead, because the playing field has changed,” he further stated. 

He identified leadership, rather than capital or talent, as the biggest challenge facing Africa’s digital future. According to him, “Our biggest risk is not lack of capital or talent; it is weak leadership.” 

He however said: “This is not a time for comfort or committee meetings. It is a time for bold leadership that is willing to disrupt legacy products, legacy revenues, and legacy mindsets.”

Using MTN Nigeria as a case study, he noted that the company has moved beyond basic connectivity into cloud services, fintech, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

According to him, connectivity and data have become commodities, and the real value is in building intelligence on top of those commodities, where winners in this digital era will emerge.

He therefore urged African youths and innovators to act decisively and take advantage of its youthful tech savvy population, to lead digital revolution from Africa. 

He said: “History does not reward those who wait to be convinced. The time to act is now. Africa must not be left behind again; this time, we can set the trend for the fourth digital generation.”

While noting the visible growth of the platform, the transformation and revolution that have been carried out within a year, Shodunke commended the conference conveners for building a strong ecosystem for technology conversations in Africa.