The future is being rewritten by artificial intelligence (AI), and Professor Adenike Osofisan refuses to let Nigeria be a passive observer. As the country’s first female professor of Computer Science, she has spent decades shaping the tech landscape. Now, she is raising the alarm: while AI holds incredible promise, its dangers are just as real—and Nigeria is not prepared.
“I believe in AI, but I’m also afraid of AI,” she asserts, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging both its benefits and potential pitfalls. While many in Nigeria focus solely on AI’s positive aspects, she warns, “No one is thinking about how to mitigate the bad side.”
Drawing parallels, she notes, “If you have a friend that has two sides, it’s important you know both sides so as to know how to deal with such a friend.” This analogy underscores the necessity of understanding AI’s complexities to harness its potential responsibly.
Professor Osofisan is actively planning to contribute to this discourse, stating, “I’m planning to write a paper on AI.” She emphasizes the urgency of exploring AI’s darker facets to prepare for unforeseen challenges, cautioning that without such preparation, “If we focus on just the good side, and suddenly the bad side comes up, we will be lost—we won’t know how to fix it.”
She advocates for proactive research into mitigating AI’s adverse effects, highlighting that “There are algorithms to solve the bad side of AI; we need to start going deep into these research areas.” For this endeavor, she calls upon governmental support, asserting that “The government must be ready to pump money into these research projects.”
Addressing AI’s integration into Nigeria’s educational framework, Professor Osofisan observes, “We are already doing that, to tell the truth, but we may need to do more.” She points out that the information technology sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP is “increasing every year.”
To further capitalize on AI’s potential, she suggests creating opportunities to retain talented individuals within the country. “Nigeria has a lot of people that can write software, very good software,” she remarks, drawing a parallel to India’s thriving software industry.
Encouraging the Nigerian diaspora to return and contribute to national development, she emphasizes, “Only Nigerians will build Nigeria—foreigners won’t.” She cautions against over-reliance on foreign aid, noting that external assistance often comes with strings attached.
Professor Osofisan also advocates for early introduction of AI concepts in education, suggesting that Nigeria should emulate educational models where “science and technology are introduced to children from a very young age.”
Expressing concern over the disproportionate emphasis on religious activities in academic settings, she questions, “How can a university student who came to study spend 12 hours in church out of 24 hours?” She stresses the primary purpose of attending university is education, not religious engagement.
In recent developments, Nigeria has taken steps toward responsible AI governance. In November 2023, the country signed the Bletchley Declaration on AI, committing to international collaboration on ethical standards and risk mitigation strategies.
Furthermore, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has partnered with an innovative AI startup and other government bodies to develop Nigeria’s first government-backed large-language model (LLM). This LLM is being trained in five low-resource Nigerian languages and accented English, aiming to enhance the representation of Nigeria’s diverse linguistic heritage in AI applications.
These initiatives reflect a growing recognition within Nigeria of the need to balance AI’s opportunities with its inherent risks, aligning with Professor Osofisan’s advocacy for a comprehensive and cautious approach to AI integration.
