Tinubu’s Caution Against Dependence On AI, Welcome Development, Says Dr. Adebogun

The Proprietor/Director of Caleb Group of Schools and Visitor to Caleb University, Dr. Ola Adebogun, has welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s call for students to preserve analytical and critical thinking amid the rapid rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and society.

Dr. Adebogun described the President’s appeal as timely and necessary, stressing that technology should complement — not replace — human reasoning and intellectual development. He underscored that ignorance cannot substitute for learning and that students must remain committed to developing cognitive skills.

He said that the President’s counsel for students to remain intellectually engaged while embracing new technologies was a step in the right direction, stressing that “we must harness AI’s power without surrendering our capacity for analysis, judgement and creativity.”

Dr. Adebogun also welcomed the Federal Government’s engagement with global and local technology partners, highlighting the announced partnership with Google and collaboration with Awarri Technologies. He noted that these initiatives, designed to develop AI software infrastructure tailored to Nigeria’s arts, culture, languages and societal needs, will help address gaps in existing global models.

“These partnerships will build the critical AI infrastructure our local market requires and ensure our language, culture and social context are represented in technological design,” he said. “Aligned with the administration’s agenda for economic diversification through industrialisation, digitalisation and innovation, these efforts will empower businesses, generate new opportunities and position Nigeria more strongly in the global digital economy.”

Dr. Adebogun, however, outlined several potential benefits of AI such as accelerated learning and improved access to information for students and educators through personalised instruction and faster feedback; increased productivity across public and private sectors by automating routine tasks and freeing professionals to focus on higher-order work

According to him, the benefits also include new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship via products and platforms that combine data, machine learning and human creativity and enhanced language and cultural preservation when AI systems are trained on locally relevant datasets and upport for economic diversification by creating skilled jobs in software, data science and AI engineering and by attracting investment to the tech ecosystem.

Highlighting risks that required careful management, he noted that over-reliance on AI may erode critical thinking, analytical skills and independent problem-solving if technology becomes a substitute for human judgment; bias and representation gaps in AI models can amplify misinformation, cultural misinterpretation and social inequalities if local contexts are not prioritised and data privacy and security concerns must be addressed to protect citizens’ personal information and institutional integrity.

“Job displacement in certain sectors will require deliberate re – skilling and social policy measures to ensure an inclusive transition for workers and robust ethical and regulatory frameworks are necessary to guide responsible AI deployment and to ensure accountability, transparency and fairness are also risks that require careful management”, he said

Dr. Adebogun, however, urged policymakers, educators and industry partners to adopt a balanced approach that pairs technological adoption with strong investments in education, ethics and local capacity-building.

“We must pair innovation with instruction. Schools and universities should teach AI literacy alongside core disciplines to ensure learners can use these tools wisely while retaining analytical independence. Government and industry must also invest in ethical frameworks, data governance and workforce development to make AI a force for inclusive growth.”

He recommended practical measures including curricular reform to incorporate critical thinking and AI literacy, targeted funding for local AI research and development, public–private partnerships that prioritise local content, and transparent regulatory policies that protect citizens while enabling innovation.