Education Key to Successful AI Adoption in Nigeria, Says Mogaji

Education Key to Successful AI Adoption in Nigeria, Says Mogaji

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Technology expert, David Mogaji, has called for greater emphasis on education and human capacity development as Nigeria intensifies efforts to adopt artificial intelligence across critical sectors of the economy.

Mogaji

Mogaji made the call during a stakeholder engagement on the National AI Trust, where he said education should be regarded as the foundation for the successful deployment and adoption of artificial intelligence in the country.

He said although sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, finance and security had been identified as key areas for AI application, the success of the technology in these sectors would depend largely on the capacity of Nigerians to develop, understand and use it.

According to him, Nigeria requires a combination of technical expertise and widespread AI literacy to maximise the benefits of the emerging technology.

He said the country needed engineers, researchers, data scientists and other professionals with the skills to develop, test and maintain AI systems.

Mogaji, however, noted that building technical capacity alone would not be sufficient, stressing the need to educate ordinary Nigerians who would interact with AI-powered systems in their daily activities.

He identified farmers, healthcare workers, traders and teachers among those who could increasingly benefit from AI applications if they understood the technology and trusted its capabilities.

He said users should not be treated as passive recipients of AI solutions because their acceptance of the technology would be critical to its success.

Mogaji explained that a farmer, for instance, might be reluctant to adopt an AI-powered agricultural solution without understanding how it could improve productivity, while a healthcare worker could similarly be unwilling to rely on an AI-assisted system without confidence in its recommendations.

He therefore, advocated a two-pronged approach to AI education in Nigeria, saying that one aspect should focus on developing the technical workforce required to build and maintain AI systems, while the other should provide the wider population with basic knowledge of artificial intelligence, including its capabilities, limitations and implications.

Mogaji warned that failure to address both areas could limit the impact of Nigeria’s AI investments. The country could either lack the expertise needed to develop its own AI solutions or end up with sophisticated technologies that citizens were unable or unwilling to use.

The technology expert also stressed the importance of building public trust in AI, saying the effectiveness of the technology should not be measured only by its sophistication but by its ability to address real-life challenges.

He said the National AI Trust process provided an opportunity for Nigeria to develop an approach to artificial intelligence that reflected the country’s peculiar circumstances and development needs.

Mogaji further called for the benefits of AI to extend beyond major technology centres to communities across the country, pointing out that Nigeria’s AI ambition should ultimately be measured by the extent to which the technology improves lives, creates opportunities and helps solve problems across different sectors, adding that developing an AI-ready population was as important as developing AI systems themselves.

The stakeholder engagement formed part of ongoing discussions on responsible and inclusive AI development and adoption in Nigeria.