AI content ignores Nigerian realities, experts warn

The Higher Education Research and Policy Network has warned that much of the content generated by artificial intelligence platforms is developed in the Global North and does not adequately reflect the realities of Nigeria and other countries in the Global South.

The network therefore called for the development of local content and datasets to ensure that Nigerian knowledge, culture and realities are better represented in AI-generated content.

The recommendations were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 18th Annual and Regional Conference of HERPNET, held at the Faculty of Education Auditorium, Lagos State University, Ojo, from September 7 to 10.

The communiqué was signed by the HERPNET President, Prof S.O. Adediji; the Communiqué Committee Chairman, Prof A.O. Onuka; and the HERPNET Secretary, Dr E. Okeke.

The conference, themed, “Innovating Higher Education with AI: Teaching, Research and Policy Perspectives,” brought together scholars and education stakeholders to examine the growing use of AI in higher education.

The participants observed that while AI was useful in research, academic work and teaching, “there is limited knowledge about the effective use of AI.”

They said, “The use of AI should be adapted to our own cultural context.”

The network called for systematic training programmes to equip students and lecturers with the skills required to deploy AI effectively across curriculum development, teaching, research and assessment.

It said, “AI has come to stay. AI is very useful, and everyone should try to utilise it in research, academic work, and teaching, to improve efficiency and effectiveness in learning delivery.”

The participants, however, warned that AI was susceptible to misuse and abuse.

They called for a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to the development and use of AI, as well as stronger networking between academia and industry.

The communiqué read, “We need to develop our own content based on the realities of our context, for instance, the notion of Omoluabi – which demands that we should use AI with integrity.

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“We need to contextualise the development and utilisation of AI through a collaborative multidisciplinary approach. There is also need for networking between the academia and industry.”

The conference’s keynote speaker, Prof Oluwatoyin Enikuomehin, represented by Prof Olugbenga Akindoju, recommended that responsible AI use in education should be built around three pillars: documentation, policy and training.

According to the keynote presentation, documentation should focus on creating awareness, policy should determine the limits of AI use in academic work, while training should promote AI literacy among staff and learners.

The lead paper presenter, Prof Francis Egbokhare, similarly recommended that AI adoption should be governed through a structured maturity framework rather than ad hoc deployment.

He also called for investment in AI literacy, training and access before scaling up its deployment, while urging institutions to protect human judgment and academic integrity through appropriate policies.

The founding President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof Joel Babalola, said the challenges associated with AI should not diminish its usefulness, but stressed the need to address the challenges and contextualise its use.

The conference further recommended the promotion of digital integrity, digital discipline, value governance and the digital capacitation of teachers and learners while ensuring that AI use remained human-centred.

The participants said AI had “come to stay” and urged education stakeholders to embrace it to improve efficiency and effectiveness in teaching, learning and research.

They, however, emphasised that AI should be used with integrity, citing the Yoruba concept of Omoluabi as an example of a cultural value that could guide responsible AI use.

The conference featured plenary and parallel sessions, with more than 200 presentations delivered physically and virtually by scholars from institutions and organisations within and outside Nigeria.

It also featured a panel discussion on AI policy in education, moderated by Prof J.B. Babalola and attended by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tertiary Education, Dr Kasali Waheed; Prof Olugbenga Akindoju; and Oluyomi Agge of the DAWN Commission.