Nigeria could position itself as a continental leader in artificial intelligence (AI) not just in adoption, but in intelligent, responsible use education stakeholders have said during a high-level policy workshop in Abuja.
The workshop, held under the theme “Data and AI for School Administration: From Records to Results in Nigeria’s Education System,” brought together more than 200 participants both in person and virtually. Attendees included policymakers, school administrators, education leaders, examination officials and technology experts from across the country.
Organised by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, the event focused on how structured data systems and emerging AI tools can transform Nigeria’s education sector from improving governance and transparency to delivering measurable learning outcomes.
In her keynote address, AI strategist and founder of Fimio, Dr. Omoju Miller, said Nigeria’s youthful population and strong diaspora network give the country a strategic advantage in the global AI landscape. However, she warned that simply adopting foreign AI tools without developing local expertise could keep Nigeria dependent on external systems. “AI is inevitable,” she said, but added that the real goal should be building domestic capacity to design, regulate and deploy AI responsibly.
Participants agreed that enthusiasm for AI must be matched with serious reforms in data governance the foundation on which effective AI systems are built.
Dr. Agodi Alagbe, founder of the Centre for Teaching and Learning Academy, emphasised that Nigeria’s education challenge is not AI itself, but the poor quality and fragmentation of education data.
She pointed to inconsistencies in student enrolment figures, teacher deployment records, infrastructure audits and learning performance metrics as obstacles that must be addressed before AI can have meaningful impact.
Giving a practical example, Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu, outlined his state’s ongoing digital transformation. He described how Ogun has moved from paper-based administration to integrated digital platforms including Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), Student Management Systems (SMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS).
He said this shows that even within limited resources, digital reform is possible with clear policy direction and disciplined execution.
Moderating the workshop, Chidima Chidoka, Director of the Athena Centre, stressed that AI amplifies whatever system it’s built on strong or weak. Without credible data architecture and safeguards, she warned, AI could actually entrench existing inefficiencies instead of solving problems.
At the end of the workshop, participants who completed assessment modules received certificates. Institutions will also receive customised AI Preparedness and Data Governance Assessment Reports documents that pinpoint operational gaps and recommend clear pathways for responsible AI adoption.
Organisers described the event as part of a broader push to institutionalise evidence-based governance in Nigeria’s education system. Stakeholders agreed that strengthening data infrastructure is the first indispensable step toward building a modern, accountable and AI-ready school system and that Nigeria’s success in artificial intelligence will ultimately depend less on how fast the country adopts technology and more on how strong its supporting systems are.
