British-Nigerian data and AI expert Abel Aboh has dismissed the Federal Government’s target to train 36,000 Nigerians in artificial intelligence as insignificant, saying the number cannot move the needle for a country of over 250 million people with 70% youth population.
Aboh made the statement during the latest edition of The Coffee Table Podcast with Ugo Obi-Chukwu.
He said Nigeria’s approach to AI literacy is not good enough and must start from primary schools, not just tertiary institutions, if the country wants to compete globally.
Last month, the federal government announced that it has partnered Coursera to train 36,000 Nigerian youths in AI and cybersecurity.
What they are saying
Reacting to the development, Aboh said the number is insignificant for a country that has 250 million population.
- “36,000. It’s like, I’ve got this tea right now, and I just put a pinch of sugar. It doesn’t make any difference. 36,000 in a country of over 250 million people, in a country where we’ve got 70% young people. Lagos, for example, over 20 million people. What does 36,000 do?
- “It’s not enough. And the reason it’s not enough is because we’re trying to address this problem in the wrong way.”
He added that AI education should begin at the kindergarten level and continue through primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, rather than being concentrated mainly in higher institutions.
Aboh also said Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy will remain an aspiration unless it is implemented to address challenges in agriculture, security, unemployment and other critical sectors.
He argued that Nigeria must move beyond drafting strategies and training a limited number of people to deploying artificial intelligence against clearly defined national and sector-specific problems.
- “Writing strategy is one thing. Where the rubber meets the road is implementation because strategy is a piece of paper. It is an aspiration.”
He said the bigger issue is that the draft does not clearly define what problems Nigeria wants AI to solve.
- “I would have loved to see the problems they want to solve in Nigeria in that strategy. What are we using AI to do for agriculture, the financial sector and transportation?”
On agriculture, he explained AI can analyze data on crops, yield, weather, soil and markets to help farmers decide where to plant.
- “Every facet of agriculture is data. AI brings big data, analyses the data, gives you better insight and gives you a better focus on predictability.”
Get up to speed
The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy is intended to guide Nigeria’s adoption of AI for economic and social transformation. It outlines objectives for improving productivity, strengthening public services and positioning Nigeria within the global AI ecosystem.
- The strategy seeks to support economic growth and competitiveness by focusing on AI’s impact on industries, employment and productivity.
- It aims to improve outcomes in healthcare, agriculture and education while addressing poverty, inequality and climate change.
- It is also designed to improve government services and empower citizens to benefit from artificial intelligence.
Another objective is to develop the research, innovation and governance frameworks required for responsible and ethical AI adoption.
Aboh, however, argued that these goals must be connected to specific national challenges and backed by clear implementation plans.
More insights
Aboh recommended that Nigeria identify about 10 priority areas for AI adoption, including financial services, education, security and unemployment. He cited India’s outsourcing industry as an example of how large-scale skills development can create employment opportunities.
- On insecurity, he said AI could support drone surveillance, CCTV monitoring, intelligence gathering and facial recognition to track criminal activities.
- He argued that Nigeria must invest in data centres and other infrastructure required to store and process data locally, adding that Nigeria had conditions that could attract data centre investment, including available land and proximity to water, but decision-makers were not engaging the right stakeholders.
He also noted that few states have commissioners responsible for technology or innovation, limiting their capacity to promote AI adoption at the subnational level.
Aboh described Lagos as Nigeria’s leading innovation hub because of its fintech activity, although he said the state still ranked behind several other African technology centres in some global fintech indices.
According to Aboh, Nigeria must treat AI as a practical tool rather than an abstract technology or long-term ambition. He said investments in artificial intelligence should be assessed based on their ability to generate revenue, reduce costs or minimise risks.
- “We need a national GPT strategy, a General Purpose Technology strategy. The world has moved on. Nigeria is not just some country. It is the biggest black nation in the world. One in five black people is a Nigerian, so we cannot afford to do one thing.”
He maintained that Nigeria must pursue AI alongside petroleum development, rail infrastructure and space technology rather than waiting to address each area sequentially.
What you should know
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission has announced plans to review the Nigeria Data Protection Act to more explicitly address emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics. The planned review comes three years after the legislation was signed into law.
- The National Commissioner of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, disclosed the plan in Abuja while marking three years since the Act was signed.
- President Bola Tinubu signed the Nigeria Data Protection Act into law on June 12, 2023.
- Olatunji said the rapid development of digital technology had made some provisions of the legislation due for an update.
He explained that emerging technologies were addressed only in broad terms when the law was initially drafted because the digital landscape was less advanced.
The proposed review is expected to provide more specific provisions for technologies that have developed rapidly since the data protection legislation took effect.
