Artificial Intelligence (AI) may provide transformative answers for some of Nigeria's most pressure social deficit: Education, healthcare, and poverty, if applied with foresight and inclusion, then senior lecturer, Aninde Anibaba in analysis of professional problems and decision making at Lagos Business School.
Speaking in a firecide chat during the Business AI Summit 2025 in Lagos on Friday, Anibaba argued that Nigeria should look beyond campaigning around AI and ask how technology can be directed towards solving the country's problems.
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“Currently we have about 18.2 million out-of-school children, about half of the global clan. It makes Nigeria a subscription to the world's education crisis. AI will not magically build schools or trained teachers, but if we define education again, can people help people to be more aware of their world and to solve problems, can they help them to solve problems. Can play, which is through personal learning.
Anibaba also highlighted the Nigeria's delicate healthcare system, where the doctor's deficiency leaves a physician to serve an estimated 6,000 people, which is much below global standards. He said, “Imagine how AI or virtual counseling equipment can increase access to undested communities. If we fix education and health, we fix most of our social problems, because a healthy, educated person can create a solution for himself and others,” he said.
Poverty, he said, Nigeria remains the third pillar of the surrounded social deficit, and AI can enable smart, data-powered interventions here. “AI can help us map poverty in more grainy ways and design targeted social policies. It is about applying intelligence, not only about technology,” he explained.
Emphasizing opportunities, Anibaba also warned that AI comes with risks, including misinformation, bias, and job displacement. “Every technique has unexpected results. To anticipate and reduce them without framework, Nigeria can face more damage,” he said.
He urged policy makers to adopt “advance governance”, an active approach that prepares for long -term risks enabling innovation. Regulation, he insisted, “should guide” without guidance “should progress”.
In order to create confidence in AI adoption, Anibaba pointed to the indigenous African leadership model vested in collective responsibility, inclusion and storytelling. “People should look at the value of technology for themselves, not only to use it. Our traditional communal model Trust can help bridge the gap,” he argued.
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To really exploit AI for Nigeria, he said, digital exclusion should also deal with, saying, “If millions of offline, they will be excluded from AI benefits. The government should address not only technology, but also human, cultural and economic dimensions.”
“AI is just a tool. The real question is: what problems do we want to solve it, and who get to make decisions?” Anibaba said.
