Why Nigeria’s AI strategy needs a human touch

Nigerians are quick to try new technology but slow to let it change how they actually work. This was the message from corporate leaders at the 2026 in Victoria Island. Experts warned that while the country is starting to use Artificial Intelligence at a world-class rate, it is failing to actually integrate the tech into professional life.

About 88 percent of Nigerian adults use AI in their daily lives, yet the professional adoption rate sits at just 8.7 percent. This is lower than the average across Sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that many are using AI for basic or “mundane” tasks rather than to transform their careers, data shared at the event showed.

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Delivering the opening address, the immediate past president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), Olusegun Mojeed observed that while Nigerians are brilliant and creative, the real challenge lies in how that talent is nurtured in an automated world.

“In this economy, a skill is good, but a degree is better only if paired with the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn quickly,” he noted. “Employers are no longer asking what did you study, but what problem can you solve. You can no longer say, ‘This is not how we do it,’ or ‘I don’t want to’.”

The urgency of the discussion was underscored by key data presented during the keynote session by another panelist, Dr. Ademola Adedipe, who warned that high usage does not equal professional integration. “Everybody knows about AI. But what is the rate of adoption?” he challenged. “93 percent of us have initiated some form of AI adoption; however, initiating something is not the same as integrating it. We know the ‘Nigerian syndrome’: once anything comes, we dive into it, but get tired very easily. They are really pumped up, but they are not pumped up to last.”

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Adedipe noted that many organisations are merely “scratching the surface,” using AI for elementary tasks rather than deep organisational renewal. While the fintech and financial services sector shows a high adoption rate of 87.5 percent for fraud detection and credit scoring, AI usage in human resources and talent management remains at a lowly 9 percent.

“The irony here is that we are protecting transactions better than we are preparing people,” Adedipe remarked pointedly. “People preparation should actually be the number one thing because people drive process. If the human component of AI sensitisation is low, every other thing will suffer. We are paying so much attention to areas where our money is at risk, but in people components, we are not actually intentional. We are barely scratching the surface of what AI can actually deliver.”