A data and artificial intelligence (AI) expert, Abel Aboh, has called on the Nigerian government to integrate AI education into the national curriculum starting from the nursery level, warning that the country risks falling far behind in global digital advancements if urgent action is not taken.
During an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, Aboh, who is a data manager, AI leader, and board member at The Data Lab in Scotland, emphasized the importance of preparing Nigerian children from an early age to not only use AI technologies but to understand, build, and innovate with them.
He stated that early AI education was no longer a futuristic concept but a present necessity. He pointed to countries like China that have already started introducing digital and AI literacy from the earliest stages of education, urging Nigeria to adopt a similar strategy.
According to him, it’s no longer acceptable for schools in Nigeria to operate without internet access or basic computing tools.
"Imagine a school without internet or without using computers. It’s not possible. We’ve got to embed artificial intelligence as part of the curriculum. This is not an optional thing. This is a compulsory thing that needs to happen," he said.
Aboh also referenced the government's reported effort to train three million Nigerians in tech skills, describing the initiative as commendable but insufficient given Nigeria’s large youth population.
He argued that the country should be aiming to upskill at least ten million young people immediately to meet future workforce demands and global competition.
He stressed that AI education should not be limited to just coding or data science but should also focus on teaching young people how to design, build, and apply intelligent tools across sectors. According to him, all levels of Nigeria’s education system—including its approximately 200 universities and colleges—must start integrating AI into their curricula as a matter of urgency.
Responding to concerns that widespread poverty might make tech education less of a priority, Aboh argued that digital skills and AI could be part of the solution to poverty and hunger. He stated that economic inactivity, not just food scarcity, is the root cause of hunger and that AI could empower young Nigerians to become job creators and innovators.
“When someone is hungry, what the person needs is food. And food does not fall from the sky. You’ve got to create it. People are hungry because they’re not economically active. Artificial intelligence will help you earn money, create things you can sell, and feed yourself,” he said.
He further stressed that Nigeria can no longer rely on traditional methods such as manual farming to solve its socio-economic problems, noting that technology must now be a central part of national planning and development.
On government policies, Aboh expressed frustration over the delay in finalizing Nigeria’s national AI strategy, revealing that it is still in draft form.
He said the strategy must be made official and implemented immediately. He also emphasized the importance of fast-tracking the Digital Economy Bill, which has yet to be passed into law.
"We’ve got the national AI strategy. Unfortunately, the strategy is under draft and that’s sitting in the shed. That’s not good enough.
We need to move that from a draft to an active policy. Government needs to set the trajectory and the policy, and then the public sector needs to galvanize quite quickly,” he added.
Aboh’s warning comes amid growing global interest in artificial intelligence and its transformative potential in education, industry, and economic development.