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By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Director-General (DG) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has called on Nigerian universities to take decisive steps toward embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an essential driver of the nation’s future.
Speaking in a lecture delivered at the 23rd Convocation Ceremony of Igbinedion University, Okada, General Nafiu stressed that AI was already reshaping global education and Nigeria must choose whether to guide this transformation or be overtaken by it.
The NYSC helmsman noted that the Nigeria’s youthful population, 60 percent of whom were under 25, placed the country at a strategic crossroads, adding that this demographic advantage could become a national asset with the right investment in AI literacy and academic reform.
According to him, estimates suggested that Nigeria’s AI market could grow by 27% annually and contribute as much as $15 billion to the country’s GDP by 2030.
General Nafiu also noted the groundbreaking learning experiments and AI-powered teaching tools that had produced outstanding student outcomes in various parts of the world and even within Edo State.
He said the evidence showed that AI had the capacity to improve teaching quality, expand academic access, and elevate Nigeria’s competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The DG outlined key potentials of AI in higher education, including personalized learning systems, accelerated research output, improved access to quality instruction, and streamlined administration across campuses.
He stressed that universities must not remain passive consumers of foreign technology, but become active contributors to Africa-focused innovations.
“We must focus on AI solutions that address our unique challenges, such as predictive models for agriculture, diagnostic systems for local diseases, and educational platforms tailored to our multilingual, infrastructure-limited context,” he said.
He asserted that the NYSC had the capacity to support this transformation, stating that its annual deployment of nearly 400,000 Corps members presented an opportunity to promote digital literacy.
Under this vision, he said, Corps members could serve as AI literacy ambassadors in both urban and rural communities.
The DG however, identified challenges such as infrastructural gaps, risks of digital colonialism, a shortage of AI-trained academic staff, ethical concerns, and funding constraints.
He emphasized the need for universities to adopt ethical guidelines for AI use and develop policies that would safeguard academic integrity.
He recommended five strategic actions, including innovation in infrastructure, curriculum overhaul, capacity building for lecturers, strong institutional governance, and equitable access to AI tools.
General Nafiu congratulated the graduands and advised them to embrace the digital future with responsibility, adding: “AI has already transformed your world; your task is to lead the transformation that comes next.”
