Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned against the dangers of uncontrolled Artificial Intelligence (AI), urging Nigeria to develop the capacity to deploy the technology in addressing grassroots challenges.

Mr Obasanjo gave the warning on Friday in Abeokuta at the Ajibosin 3.0 Annual Symposium, themed: “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development.”

He said that although he lacked technical knowledge of AI, its potential misuse underscored the need for Nigerians to understand and exercise control over the technology.

“I don’t know too much technically about AI, I don’t. But I know that anything that is not in your control can be abused against you, ” he said.

“I believe if we are masters of our own goal as far as AI is concerned, we will make AI do for us what we want AI to do for us,” he said.

Mr Obasanjo cited concerns about AI-generated content and its potential to manipulate and distort identities.

The former president also cautioned against adopting foreign policies and technologies without examining their implications, recalling how the slave trade, colonialism, globalisation and structural adjustment policies had affected Africa.

He questioned Nigeria’s dependence on foreign economic prescriptions, particularly those from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, saying that African countries must develop home-grown solutions to their challenges.

He urged participants to examine how AI could be leveraged to tackle critical national issues, including out-of-school children, food security, healthcare delivery and local pharmaceutical production.

He further emphasised the need to safeguard Owu cultural heritage, stating that culture encompasses language, cuisine, dress, traditional greetings and other core aspects of identity.

Mr Obasanjo said the destruction of people’s cultural identity could pave the way for their enslavement, adding that the Ajibosin initiative would promote Owu heritage and development across Nigeria and the diaspora.

Earlier, the convener and founder of the League of Northern Democrats, Umar Ardo, warned that artificial intelligence could extend Africa’s history of economic exploitation if the continent failed to control its data, technology and digital infrastructure.

Mr Ardo, the guest speaker, described AI as a potential new instrument of extraction, comparing the exploitation of African data to the historical exploitation of human beings, natural resources and skilled labour.

He called for African-owned technology, stronger data protection and investment in local innovation.

He urged Nigeria and other African countries to develop indigenous AI systems and direct AI applications towards agriculture, healthcare, local government administration and grassroots development.

In her remarks, Onikepo Akande, chairperson of the occasion, urged Nigerians to leverage AI to create sustainable opportunities and accelerate national development.

“Nigerians should deploy technology judiciously to improve key sectors, including healthcare, agriculture and education; it offers opportunities for sustainable growth and development,” she said. 

(NAN)