Professor Barth Nnaji Champions AI-Driven Education at 2025 Fafunwa Lecture

Professor Barth Nnaji, a globally renowned engineer and former Minister of Power, chaired the 2025 Annual Fafunwa Foundation Lecture at the Muson Centre in Lagos, delivering a compelling call to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into Nigeria’s education system. Honoring the legacy of Professor Babatunde Aliyu Fafunwa, a former Minister of Education and Pan-Nigerian icon, Nnaji emphasized the urgent need for Nigeria to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution through culturally rooted, AI-enhanced pedagogy. “Nigeria and the rest of Africa lost the last three Revolutions. We can’t afford to lose the 4th Industrial Revolution,” Nnaji declared, underscoring the stakes for the nation’s future.

Nnaji paid tribute to Fafunwa’s transformative contributions to Nigerian education, noting his role as acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1960s. He celebrated Fafunwa’s daughter, Professor Sheri Fafunwa-Ndibe, for continuing her father’s academic legacy, having flown from the United States to attend the lecture. “Thanks, Sheri, for taking such pains to honour the memory of a wonderful dad and a true Nigerian,” Nnaji said, highlighting the personal and national significance of the event. The lecture’s theme, Reinventing Teacher Education for Culturally Rooted and AI-Enhanced Pedagogy in Nigeria, resonated deeply with Nnaji’s vision for an education system equipped to navigate the global AI revolution.

The rise of generative AI, sparked by innovations like ChatGPT4, has reshaped global industries, and Nnaji warned that Africa risks being left behind without proactive measures. Drawing from his own expertise in automation and robotics, honed at MIT in the 1980s, he stressed the need for teacher training in AI, Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, and Cybersecurity. “Our teachers can’t teach our children AI and related topics… if they are not trained in them,” he asserted. However, Nnaji also cautioned against risks like privacy threats and cultural erosion, advocating for a balanced approach inspired by China’s model of safeguarding national values while embracing technological advancement.A critical barrier, Nnaji noted, is the lack of computer literacy among many Nigerian teachers, with many lacking access to computers. He proposed a bold initiative: equipping every public-school teacher with a locally produced computer, funded by all tiers of government. Citing a precedent from the Obasanjo era, when Toyota Prado SUVs were distributed to local government areas for security, Nnaji argued, “We can do a similar thing now to secure the future of our dear nation through our children.” This ambitious plan, he suggested, would honor Fafunwa’s lifelong dedication to educating Nigeria’s youth for global competitiveness.

The 2025 Fafunwa Lecture, attended by educators, policymakers, and dignitaries, served as a clarion call for Nigeria to seize the AI revolution while preserving its cultural identity. Nnaji’s leadership and vision underscored the event’s significance as a turning point for Nigerian education. “It will be a nice way to honour the memory of Nigeria’s foremost educationist and Pan-Nigerian nationalist,” he concluded, urging collective action to ensure Nigeria’s children are prepared for a technology-driven future.