TLDR: Dr. Ola Adebogun, Proprietor/Director of Caleb Group of Schools and Visitor to Caleb University, has expressed strong support for President Bola Tinubu’s cautionary stance on over-reliance on Artificial Intelligence. Adebogun emphasized that AI should serve as a complement to human intellect, not a replacement, advocating for the preservation of critical thinking skills among students. He commended the Nigerian government’s collaborations with global and local technology partners, including Google and Awarri Technologies, aimed at developing AI infrastructure tailored to local needs. While acknowledging AI’s potential benefits such as enhanced learning and productivity, he also highlighted significant risks like the erosion of critical thinking, algorithmic bias, data privacy issues, and job displacement. Dr. Adebogun urged a balanced strategy, combining technological advancement with robust investments in education, ethical guidelines, and local capacity building.
Dr. Ola Adebogun, the Proprietor/Director of Caleb Group of Schools and Visitor to Caleb University, has publicly supported President Bola Tinubu’s recent appeal for students to maintain analytical and critical thinking abilities amidst the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and society.
Dr. Adebogun characterized the President’s call as both timely and essential, underscoring that technology should augment, rather than supplant, human reasoning and intellectual development. He stressed the importance of students remaining dedicated to cultivating cognitive skills, asserting that ‘ignorance cannot substitute for learning.’
He further elaborated on the necessity of a balanced approach, stating, ‘we must harness AI’s power without surrendering our capacity for analysis, judgement and creativity.’
In addition to endorsing the President’s caution, Dr. Adebogun lauded the Federal Government’s proactive engagement with international and domestic technology partners. He specifically highlighted the announced collaboration with Google and Awarri Technologies, noting that these initiatives are designed to create AI software infrastructure that is specifically tailored to Nigeria’s unique arts, culture, languages, and societal requirements. These efforts, he believes, will effectively bridge existing gaps in global AI models.
‘These partnerships will build the critical AI infrastructure our local market requires and ensure our language, culture and social context are represented in technological design,’ Dr. Adebogun affirmed. He also connected these efforts to the administration’s broader economic agenda, stating, ‘Aligned with the administration’s agenda for economic diversification through industrialisation, digitalisation and innovation, these efforts will empower businesses, generate new opportunities and position Nigeria more strongly in the global digital economy.’
Dr. Adebogun detailed several potential benefits that AI could bring, including:
Accelerated learning and improved access to information for students and educators through personalized instruction and faster feedback.
Increased productivity across public and private sectors by automating routine tasks, thereby allowing professionals to concentrate on higher-order work.
New opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship through products and platforms that integrate data, machine learning, and human creativity.
Enhanced language and cultural preservation, particularly when AI systems are trained on locally relevant datasets.
Support for economic diversification by fostering skilled jobs in software, data science, and AI engineering, and by attracting investment into the tech ecosystem.
However, he also underscored several critical risks that demand careful management:
Over-reliance on AI could erode critical thinking, analytical skills, and independent problem-solving if technology becomes a mere substitute for human judgment.
Bias and representation gaps within AI models have the potential to amplify misinformation, cultural misinterpretation, and social inequalities, especially if local contexts are not adequately prioritized.
Data privacy and security concerns must be rigorously addressed to safeguard citizens’ personal information and uphold institutional integrity.
Potential job displacement in certain sectors will necessitate deliberate re-skilling initiatives and social policy measures to ensure an inclusive transition for affected workers.
The establishment of robust ethical and regulatory frameworks is crucial to guide responsible AI deployment, ensuring accountability, transparency, and fairness.
Dr. Adebogun concluded by urging policymakers, educators, and industry partners to adopt a balanced approach. This approach, he suggested, should pair technological adoption with substantial investments in education, ethical considerations, and the development of local capacity.
‘We must pair innovation with instruction,’ he emphasized. ‘Schools and universities should teach AI literacy alongside core disciplines to ensure learners can use these tools wisely while retaining analytical independence. Government and industry must also invest in ethical frameworks, data governance and workforce development to make AI a force for inclusive growth.’
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He recommended practical measures such as curricular reform to integrate critical thinking and AI literacy, targeted funding for local AI research and development, public–private partnerships that prioritize local content, and transparent regulatory policies designed to protect citizens while simultaneously fostering innovation.
