An expert in telecommunications and computer engineering, Professor James Agajo, yesterday said Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is the ability of a computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with human beings, can provide over 80 million jobs for unemployed youths in the country.
United Nations data puts the Nigerian population at 217,079,601 as of August 2022, with the youth population accounting for 70 percent, representing 151 million, while the National Bureau of Statistics says 53.40 percent (80 million) of the 151 million youths are unemployed.
Agajo, who spoke at the LEADERSHIP Money Radio show yesterday, said Nigerian youths should not wait for companies to employ them, as the advent of AI had opened new job opportunities for them.
All that is required is for them to learn digital skills that will enable them to develop solutions to problems in various industries, he averred, adding; “AI is a big player in tackling unemployment in Nigeria because there are so many opportunities in the digital space. We have problems in various fields that require someone to develop tools to solve them. Youths can learn digital skills that can enable them to address these problems. In that way, they will be making money for themselves.”
Giving an instance, he said, “I know a 400-level student who is receiving salaries from different parts of the world because he was able to learn a skill that is helping him develop solutions to problems faced by the companies.” Agajo, who is also a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, revealed that though AI has come to stay, it is not out there to frustrate what humans do but to complement what they can do. Explaining further, he said the manual approach of solving problems might not be so effective, hence the reason to shift the paradigm to adopting AI.
“I don’t quite agree with the notion that AI will take away people’s jobs. Though more jobs will be lost, however, more jobs will be created as well. Someone needs to operate and control these machines. So most people will be moved to the operational level,” he revealed.
On the impact of AI in Nigeria, the IT expert said; “We have set up a research group called the Wireless Network and Embedded System Technology Research Group, made up of young smart students. The group was established to advance AI technology in Nigeria, to come up with solutions using AI. Within our local environment, we are adding value and it was on account of that I was invited to attend the UN summit on AI. Stakeholders at the summit evaluated the extent to which AI has progressed and how to regulate and control the use of AI, to ensure that the new stage that the world is entering is properly regulated.”
Since AI is here to stay, the IT expert advised the Nigerian government to engage stakeholders who are key players in the industry. “This will enable each participant to figure out the best way to control the application of AI by Nigerians. The stakeholders will need to come up with a national plan that will guide the country in achieving a level of percentage of acceptance of AI in Nigeria,” he advised.
