Nigeria wants to address its Artificial Intelligence (AI) knowledge gap by training at least 25,000 educators who will, in turn, teach 125,000 young people about this emerging technology.
The initiative marks the start of efforts to bridge a knowledge gap that could otherwise hinder the country’s aspiration to become a key player in the AI landscape. Training citizens in AI skills has proven effective in other leading nations, regions, and companies as they attract, develop, and train talent to build and use AI technologies.
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This will be achieved through a N2.8 billion grant from Google to Data Science Nigeria, which will bolster the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy’s ongoing AI-driven initiatives to upskill youths.
Alongside training educators, the grant will fund advanced technical training in data science and AI for 20,000 young Nigerians, preparing them for AI-driven careers. These individuals will be selected from the ministry’s ongoing 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT) program.
With a median age of around 18, Nigeria is betting on its youth to tap into the AI wave that is expected to add $15 billion to its economy in 2030. Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, said, “AI is already here. It gives us a unique opportunity to reimagine how we do things, but it’s not going to be possible for us to do it if we don’t build a strong ecosystem locally.”
In its draft National AI Strategy, Nigeria revealed that it wants to equip 70 percent of its young workforce (aged 16 – 35 years) with Artificial Intelligence (AI) related skills and knowledge to reduce unemployment by five percentage points.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s unemployment rate stood at 5 percent in the third quarter of 2023, with only 7.7 percent of jobs coming from the formal sector. The strategy document underscores that a highly skilled AI workforce is essential for any thriving AI ecosystem.
Building an AI-ready workforce requires a multi-tiered approach: educating future talent, training the current workforce, and attracting local and international expertise. Yet, financial constraints prevent most Nigerian universities from hiring professors with specialised AI knowledge, leading to a skills gap.
Despite having at least 262 universities (52 federal, 63 state-owned, and 147 private), these institutions struggle to keep pace with the evolving tech industry and provide outdated educational content.
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A report by GSMA, ‘AI for Africa: Use cases delivering impact,’ highlighted that the scarcity of these educators is a major challenge in Nigeria and Kenya.
“In Kenya and Nigeria, the scarcity of professors with robust AI expertise and qualifications appears to be a significant challenge. Academic institutions typically lack the financial resources to recruit them, impacting the quality of courses offered… While universities offer AI-related courses, they often fail to keep pace with industry needs, and students have limited opportunities for practical learning and hands-on experiences,” it said.
Nigeria wants to address this gap by nurturing its AI talents from secondary schools, hoping that its university system will catch on soon.
Tijani, minister of communications, explained, “It is focused on young people in schools and teachers. It is our responsibility to ensure that the education we give to these young ones is the sort that will allow them to participate in the future of work that the world will have to offer them when they grow.
“We cannot do that if their teachers also don’t understand how these technologies can be used, which is why I also think it’s powerful.”
Hadiza Balarabe, the deputy governor of Kaduna, recently said, “By equipping our people with AI skills, we are paving the way for a more prosperous and innovative Nigeria.”
Bayo Adekanbi, chief executive officer and founder of Data Science Nigeria, said, “Everybody must be empowered to understand what AI is and how they can leverage its opportunities and possibilities.”
Matt Brittin, President of Google for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, stated, “Through programs like the AI skilling initiatives, we aim to help Nigeria’s youth, educators, and policymakers build the knowledge needed for a sustainable AI ecosystem.”
Nigeria’s AI strategy document emphasised that the country’s youthful population is an asset for economic development, particularly in AI.
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“This demographic trend underscores the critical role that Nigeria’s youth will play in the global economy, especially in providing a digitally enabled workforce for the global AI ecosystem requirements. Furthermore, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) (46) forecasts that by 2030, 28 million jobs in Nigeria will demand digital skills, highlighting a market valued at $130 billion,” it said.
However, the strategy document acknowledged that Nigeria faces significant challenges in realising the full potential of its youth demographic due to high levels of poverty, unemployment, and insecurity. Also, the country’s AI drive is expected to slow down due to digital infrastructural gaps.
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