LAGOS, September 23, 2025 – Former Minister of Power and eminent engineer, Professor Bart Nnaji, CON, NNOM, FAS, has called on government at all levels to prioritize teacher training and digital literacy in Nigeria as part of efforts to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education.
Prof. Nnaji made this call while chairing the 2025 Annual Fafunwa Foundation Lecture and the 18th Postdoctoral Awards in Education held on Thursday at the Muson Centre, Lagos, in honour of the late Professor Babatunde Aliyu Fafunwa, a former Minister of Education and pioneer nationalist in the education sector.
“Nigeria and the rest of Africa lost the last three industrial revolutions. We cannot afford to lose the 4th Industrial Revolution shaped by generative AI if our educational institutions are not at the forefront,” Nnaji said.
He emphasized the need for massive investment in teacher education and digital infrastructure, stressing that teachers cannot prepare children for the future if they themselves are left behind.
“Our teachers can’t teach our children AI and related topics like Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, and Cybersecurity if they are not trained in them. While advocating AI, we must also be conscious of risks such as privacy breaches, forgery, bias, and cultural erosion,” he added.
Prof Nnaji, in the middle, with other dignitaries at the 2025 Fafunwa Memorial Lecture at the MUSON Centre in Lagos.
The theme of this year’s lecture, “Reinventing Teacher Education for Culturally Rooted and AI-Enhanced Pedagogy in Nigeria,” was described by Nnaji as timely, noting the global digital shift since the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in 2022.
The former Minister of Science and Technology drew lessons from China’s model, stating:
“China embraced AI but ensured its cultural and security values remained sacrosanct. Nigeria must adopt the same balance – embrace the technology while preserving our identity and safeguarding our interests.”
Highlighting the gaps in Nigeria’s current education system, Nnaji lamented that many primary and secondary school teachers remain computer illiterate and lack access to computers. He urged a nationwide initiative to provide computers for every public-school teacher, likening it to the Obasanjo-era policy when SUVs were provided to police divisions across all LGAs.
“If the three tiers of government could jointly procure and distribute vehicles for crime-fighting, they can do the same today by giving every teacher a computer. This will secure the future of our nation through our children,” Nnaji argued.
He concluded that such a move would be a fitting tribute to Prof. Fafunwa, who was “obsessed with Nigeria’s future through proper and competitive education of our children.”
Prof. Nnaji, who is also the chairman of Geometric Power Group and a globally recognized engineering researcher, expressed gratitude to participants at the event and paid tribute to Prof. Fafunwa’s daughter, Professor Sheri Fafunwa-Ndibe, for travelling from the United States to attend the lecture.
The chairman of Geometric Power, Prof Bart Nnaji, chairing the 2025 Fafunwa Educational Foundation at Munson Centre in Lagos in honour of Prof Babs Fafunwa, the late Minister of Education
