Building high-quality local data systems in Nigeria is crucial for powering AI solutions that truly reflect the country's unique social, economic, and cultural realities. To achieve this, the government and private sector can collaborate to establish a robust data governance framework that prioritizes data collection, storage, and sharing from local sources. This could involve initiatives such as crowd-sourced data collection, partnerships with local businesses and organizations, and investments in data infrastructure like data centers and analytics platforms. Additionally, Nigeria can leverage international partnerships and collaborations to access global best practices and expertise while ensuring that local data remains the foundation of its AI ecosystem. By doing so, Nigeria can create a self-sustaining data ecosystem that drives innovation, economic growth, and social progress, rather than relying on foreign data and models.