Sanusi Urges Lawyers To Embrace AI, Innovation

The 14th Emir of Kano, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, has urged Nigerian lawyers to adopt innovation and technology to enhance their relevance and efficiency.

Speaking at the International Business Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) on Wednesday, Sanusi said legal practitioners could devote more time to higher-level strategic thinking by utilising tools such as AI-driven analytics.

The Emir of Kano, the keynote speaker at the NBA-SBL conference, which had the theme “Future of business law in an intelligent age,” noted that the legal profession is facing an existential crisis.

He maintained that the legal profession and industry can harness technology through legal tech solutions that simplify tasks such as contract review, e-discovery, and compliance monitoring.

Sanusi said, “Let us be frank: the legal profession is facing an existential crisis. The lawyer, as we have known him, the draftsman, the custodian of precedents, the gatekeeper of due process, is at risk of becoming obsolete. The law is dying, not because the world is moving faster than your doctrines.

“This discourse transcends temporal relevance; it is a critical inquiry into the changing nature of law, the evolving concept of intelligence, and the capacity of institutions to remain relevant in an era defined by profound shifts in how knowledge is produced, understood, and applied.
“We are not approaching an era of transformation. We are in it. We find ourselves at a critical juncture in human history, where technology’s rapid advancement fundamentally reshapes every facet of our lives.
“Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data, and blockchain are no longer buzzwords; they have become integral parts of our personal and professional environments,” he stated.

The Emir of Kano also said that policymakers must work closely with legal experts to ensure that the laws governing AI, data usage, and business practices are not only adaptive to new paradigms but also protect individual rights and foster economic growth.

Sanusi insisted that Nigeria must harmonise with international norms while articulating local priorities and that the goal should not merely be to enforce the law, but to ensure that the law shapes innovation rather than chases it.

He further urged lawyers to be vigilant, proactive, and collaborative in navigating this complex landscape.

The monarch said, “You must adapt, innovate, and lead with integrity—drawing upon our rich traditions of justice and equity as we embrace the challenges of a new era.

“As lawyers, you cannot be seduced by the glamour of the new. You must be vigilant stewards of rights, interrogating what is legal and what is just. That future demands you train harder, think deeper, and act faster. But above all, it demands that you lead with clarity, courage, and conscience.”