Seeks enactment of a comprehensive National AI Act

Professor Oluwatoyin Ayokunle Enikuomehin of Lagos State University (LASU) has called for stronger artificial intelligence (AI) governance in Nigeria, warning that the country must develop the capacity to shape the emerging algorithmic society rather than merely inherit technologies developed elsewhere.

Enikuomehin, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing, made the call at LASU’s 127th Inaugural Lecture, titled “Thinking Machines and the Future of Thinking: Cyberphysicalism, the Transformation of Human Thought and the Emergence of an Artificial Intelligence Driven Algorithmic Society,” held at the university’s main campus in Ojo Lagos.

He urged individuals to develop critical thinking and the ability to work with AI without surrendering independent judgment, while also practising ethical discernment and protecting their digital identities as technology increasingly mediates memory, knowledge and decision-making.

At the societal and university levels, he called for stronger protection against algorithmic harm, universal broadband connectivity, digital literacy and the development of high-quality African datasets. He urged Nigeria to ensure that African voices contribute to the global AI conversation, while calling on universities to establish dedicated AI research centres, make AI literacy a core graduate competency, develop African datasets as institutional assets and invest in quantum-readiness.

“The algorithmic society is being designed now,” he said, stressing that Nigeria must contribute to its design rather than merely consume technologies developed elsewhere.

For government, Enikuomehin proposed a seven-layer AI Governance Stack for accountable AI deployment, covering infrastructure security, data governance, algorithmic accountability, explainability, ethical oversight, regulatory compliance and societal impact assessment.

He said the framework was necessary because AI governance is a layered problem, adding that failure at one layer could undermine the layers above it.

He also called for the enactment of a comprehensive National AI Act and the establishment of an independent National AI Research and Governance Council to evaluate the social impact of AI systems, advise government on policy and represent Nigeria in international AI governance forums.

He further urged the government to make broadband connectivity a national infrastructure priority, reform education to develop computational thinking and data literacy, and invest in quantum-resistant cryptographic infrastructure as a national security priority.

Speaking on the evolution of thinking machines, Enikuomehin traced the development of human cognition from writing to modern artificial intelligence, describing writing as humanity’s first cognitive prosthesis, because it allowed knowledge and ideas to survive beyond the individual mind.

The Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, described Enikuomehin’s presentation as “a very stimulating lecture” with “no dull moment,” saying it offered profound insights into the evolution of human thought in the age of Artificial Intelligence.

Olatunji-Bello also announced that Enikuomehin would become the first inaugural lecturer to receive the university’s newly introduced commemorative certificate for inaugural lecturers.