By BONIFACE AKARAH

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has proposed the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into tertiary education as a general course, saying Nigerian universities must produce graduates with the practical technology skills required to participate in the country's digital economy.

The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, made the proposal when the management of Yakubu Gowon University (UniAbuja), led by its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, visited the agency's headquarters in Abuja.

Abdullahi said AI education should not be restricted to students studying computer science or technology-related disciplines, but should become part of learning across fields of study.

“We can work together to explore ways of introducing AI across the board as a general study course in tertiary institutions. Elements of AI should be included in every field of study to equip our students with the hands-on skills for navigating the real world,” Abdullahi said.

The NITDA boss also stressed the need for stronger collaboration between the agency and Nigerian universities, particularly in research aimed at developing technology-based solutions to local challenges.

“We need to invest more in in-depth research with universities to build a robust research ecosystem that will help us develop solutions. Research will focus on harnessing AI, IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity, and Cloud technology, among other emerging technologies, to improve our lives and grow our digital economy,” he said.

Abdullahi described universities as a critical source of the human capital required to achieve Nigeria's digital transformation goals, saying NITDA could not achieve its vision of a digitally empowered Nigeria without sustained collaboration with academic institutions.

“NITDA has a vision to make Nigeria a digitally empowered nation. You (UniAbuja) are the talent factory, and we cannot achieve our vision without talented Nigerians. The only way to achieve that is working with institutions like yours. So, we need to build talent,” he stated.

According to him, NITDA is already working with the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education on efforts to strengthen digital literacy within the education system.

He said the agency was also pursuing the incorporation of digital literacy programmes into curricula across different levels of education to make graduates better prepared for the demands of industry.

The proposed expansion of AI education comes as NITDA seeks to deepen university-industry collaboration around emerging technologies and research capable of addressing practical challenges in Nigeria.

Speaking earlier, the Vice Chancellor of UniAbuja, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, said the university was seeking a stronger partnership with NITDA to improve its digital infrastructure and strengthen technology-focused training.

Fawehinmi said the institution was prepared to collaborate with the agency on research, capacity building and innovation programmes.

“We could go into partnership with you to provide data, collaborative engagements, staff exchanges, joint research hubs, so that we can produce high-level human resources,” he said.

He added that the university was ready to serve as a strategic academic partner to NITDA in advancing Nigeria's digital transformation agenda.

The proposed partnership is expected to provide opportunities for joint research, talent development and innovation programmes, while giving universities a greater role in developing home-grown technological solutions.

For NITDA, the broader objective is to build a stronger link between academic research, practical skills and the needs of Nigeria's digital economy, with AI and other emerging technologies at the centre of that effort.

•Director General, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa and the Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi during a courtesy visit to the agency’s headquarters