Abel Aboh, a Nigerian-British AI leader at Scotland’s Data Lab, has issued an urgent call for embedding artificial intelligence education from nursery school through university curricula, cautioning that delayed action could leave Nigeria trailing behind global competitors like China.
During a Channels Television interview, the Bank of England data management specialist emphasized that schools lacking internet or computer access have become educationally obsolete. “We must treat AI integration as compulsory, not optional – it’s foundational for economic survival,” he stated.
While acknowledging current efforts to train three million Nigerians in tech skills, Aboh proposed scaling targets to 10 million youths. He stressed that Nigeria’s 200+ tertiary institutions should teach AI tool development alongside traditional coding.
Addressing poverty concerns, he argued: “AI creates sellable innovations. People aren’t hungry due to food scarcity but economic inactivity.” He revealed Nigeria’s national AI strategy remains in draft form, urging immediate formalization and faster Digital Economy Bill passage.
