Nigeria could position itself as a continental leader in artificial intelligence if it strengthens data governance frameworks and institutional capacity, experts declared at a high-level policy workshop in Abuja focused on technology-driven reform in school administration.
The session, themed “Data and AI for School Administration: From Records to Results in Nigeria’s Education System,” was convened by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria. Hosted at the NOI Polls Building, the workshop attracted more than 200 participants both physically and virtually, including policymakers, school administrators, examination officials and education managers nationwide.
Deliberations focused on leveraging structured data systems and emerging artificial intelligence tools to enhance transparency, strengthen governance and deliver measurable learning outcomes within Nigeria’s education sector.
Delivering the keynote address, AI strategist and Founder of Fimio, Omoju Miller, said Nigeria’s youthful population and global diaspora network present strategic advantages in the evolving AI economy. She cautioned, however, that adoption without deliberate domestic capacity-building risks deepening technological dependence.
“AI is inevitable,” she noted, adding that the critical question is whether Nigeria will remain a consumer of externally developed systems or cultivate the expertise to design, regulate and deploy its own technologies responsibly.
Participants broadly agreed that while interest in AI is rising, systemic weaknesses in data management pose a more immediate constraint. Agodi Alagbe, Founder of the Centre for Teaching and Learning Academy, argued that fragmented and unreliable datasets—rather than limited technology—constitute the core impediment to reform.
“Nigeria’s education challenge is not AI; it is data,” she said, highlighting inconsistencies in enrolment records, teacher deployment statistics, infrastructure audits and learning performance metrics as barriers to effective planning and accountability.
Providing a state-level reform perspective, Abayomi Arigbabu, Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, joined virtually to outline his state’s transition from paper-based systems to integrated digital platforms. He detailed the rollout of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), Student Management Systems (SMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) as part of broader institutional reforms, noting that disciplined implementation and policy clarity are critical even in resource-constrained settings.
Moderating the session, Chidima Chidoka, Director of the Athena Centre, emphasised that artificial intelligence functions as a force multiplier, amplifying both strengths and weaknesses within existing systems. Without credible data architecture and regulatory safeguards, she warned, AI deployment could entrench inefficiencies rather than resolve them.
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants who completed assessment modules received certificates, while participating institutions are to be issued customised AI Preparedness and Data Governance Assessment Reports designed to identify operational gaps and recommend structured pathways for responsible AI integration.
Organisers described the event as part of a broader effort to institutionalise evidence-based governance in Nigeria’s education sector. Stakeholders at the Abuja gathering agreed that strengthening data infrastructure remains the indispensable foundation for building a modern, accountable and AI-ready school system.
