A data and AI expert, Abel Aboh, has urged the Nigerian government to embed artificial intelligence education into school curricula from the nursery level upwards, warning that the country risks falling behind global standards if it fails to act swiftly.

Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, Aboh, a Data Manager, AI leader, and board member at The Data Lab in Scotland, emphasized the importance of preparing young Nigerians to not just consume AI technologies, but to build and innovate with them.

“We need to start from the early years. When we talk about early years careers, we’re talking about people that are from nursery school. It’s crazy to say that, but countries like China are already starting from nursery and primary school,” he said.

Aboh argued that introducing AI and digital skills early in life is no longer optional but essential.

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He stressed that schools without internet or computer access are no longer viable in today’s world, and Nigeria must catch up.

“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 about an optional thing. This is a compulsory thing that needs to happen,” he said.

He pointed out that while efforts like the reported training of three million Nigerians in tech skills are commendable, the scope remains limited compared to the nation’s population and youthful demographic.

“You mentioned a number about 3 million, that’s a good number. But in my projection, we need to be targeting 10 million young Nigerian youths at the moment, not just 3 million,” Aboh said.

He called for AI integration across Nigeria’s roughly 200 universities and colleges, including secondary and primary schools.

“These institutions need to be using artificial intelligence as part of their curriculum; not just coding or data science, but how to develop and create those tools as well.”

Addressing concerns about the urgency of tech education amid widespread poverty and hunger, Aboh argued that AI could play a crucial role in addressing economic challenges by creating jobs and unlocking innovation.

“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 stressed that Nigeria can no longer rely solely on traditional methods to address societal challenges.

“We can’t just go into the farms and keep farming every day. It’s not possible. We’ve got to apply artificial intelligence to everything we do.”

On government action, Aboh revealed that Nigeria’s national AI strategy remains in draft form, urging policymakers to formalize it and act quickly.

“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,” he said

He also highlighted the importance of fast-tracking the Digital Economy Bill, which is still awaiting passage into law.

“Government needs to set the trajectory and the policy, and then the public sector needs to galvanize quite quickly,” he added.