Stakeholders Brainstorm On How Nigeria Can Tap Into $1.2trn African AI Market

As the world rapidly embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI), Nigeria stands at the precipice of a technological revolution that could redefine its socio-economic landscape, stakeholders have averred.

This is even as stakeholders who spoke to LEADERSHIP at the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) conference in Lagos, explored strategies on how Nigeria can tap into the African AI market, projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2030.

The head, New Media and Information Security at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Engr. Babagana Digema, said AI is a transformative force that is reshaping industries, economies, societies around the globe. For Nigeria, a country with immense potential and dynamic growth prospects, AI represents both an unprecedented opportunity, he added.

“At its core, AI promises to enhance productivity, drive innovation, and address some of our largest and most pressing national challenges. In sectors such as agriculture, AI-driven technologies can optimize crop yields, predict weather patterns, and manage resources more efficiently. Similarly, in healthcare, AI has the potential to revolutionize diagnostics, personalize treatments, and extend quality of care to remote areas.

“In the financial sector, AI can enhance fraud detection, streamline processes, and improve access to financial services for millions of Nigerians. In education, AI can offer personalized learnings, adapt to individual student needs, and bridge educational gaps. The possibility is vast and varied, and it offers the prospects of more efficient, equitable, and prosperous Nigeria,” Digema posited.

In the same vein, the founder, Hyperspace, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NeuRaL AI, Dr Oluseyi Akindeinde, stated that rather than take away jobs, AI is going to help Nigerians, adding that the intelligence is still artificial. “Whatever you are currently doing it is going to help your operation. For instance, as a Reporter, AI would make your job better; there is an app in the phone that as I am speaking, it is recording and not only recording, once I say stop, everything recorded, would be transcribed,” he asserted.

Akindeinde disclosed further that AI can also help a vision impaired person by deploying a vision model to know what is happening around them.

While many have feared that AI will take away people’s job, Akindeinde begged to differ, as he affirmed that AI adoption would not take away people’s jobs, rather it would enhance their productivity.

He assured Nigerians that AI would not take their jobs, maintaining that the problem with Nigerians is that there is always fear whenever a piece of technology is introduced in the country. “Any time there is new technology that comes in, there is that phobia, there is that fear that it is going to be disruptive. Yes it is disruptive but when a piece of technology is disruptive that means it can do things cheaper, it can do things faster and it can do things better. But some of the challenges are based on the assumption that AI is going to take our jobs, and because it is going to take our jobs, the first thing is to push it back and will not allow it,” he added.

The founder, CVO Digital Encode Limited, Prof. (Dr.) Obadare Peter Adewale, highlighted the potential of AI across various sectors, including finance, health, energy, transportation, defense, medical, and agriculture. He underscored AI’s ability to predict productivity and its diverse benefits but quickly cautioned against the dangers of AI misuse, stemming from issues such as bias and fairness, inadequate transparency, security vulnerabilities, data privacy concerns, and ethical and moral dilemmas.

According to the cybersecurity expert, AI is very useful in threat landscape profiling, crime detection and prevention, and reporting capabilities.

Despite the promising prospects, the path to widespread AI adoption in Nigeria is fraught with challenges.

According to Adewale, while AI offers numerous benefits, it also introduces new vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors.

“While AI offers numerous benefits, its adoption also introduces new cybersecurity risks. AI systems can introduce new vulnerabilities, providing attackers with additional entry points into an organization’s network. A report by Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that the global cybercrime damages will cost the world over $6 trillion annually by 2025,” Adewale, who was represented by the group head Information Security & GRC Advisory, Digital Encode Limited, Oluwakayode Olatunji, averred.

He posited that AI systems can be biased, making decisions based on flawed assumptions or incomplete data, as this can lead to false positives, false negatives, or even amplify existing security risks. “There is also the issue of lack of transparency and explainability. Complex AI algorithms can be difficult to understand, making it challenging to
identify and address security vulnerabilities. According to a report by PwC, 76 percent of
executives believe that AI decision-making processes are difficult to explain. Another major challenge is that AI systems require high-quality training data to function effectively. Poor-quality data can lead to inaccurate decisions, compromising an organization’s cybersecurity posture,” he added.