Lecturers in Nigeria are incorporating artificial intelligence into their work.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the educational landscape in Nigeria, with lecturers increasingly leveraging the technology to enhance teaching and research outcomes. This shift towards AI-powered academia is not without its challenges, but the benefits are undeniable.
In the realm of teaching, platforms like Schoola, based in Kaduna, are providing Nigerian teachers with tools that generate lesson plans, class notes, and assessments tailored to local curricula and student needs. This significantly reduces preparation time, ensuring relevance to local contexts. Universities and education institutions are recognizing AI's transformative potential, encouraging lecturers to adopt AI in instructional delivery and curriculum development [1][3].
However, some lecturers express concerns about the use of AI, viewing it as a potential danger to students' critical thinking skills. Uchenna Uzo, a professor of marketing at Lagos Business School, uses AI to organize his thoughts and generate teaching material, but he acknowledges the need for students to learn how to filter and refine AI output effectively [4].
In research, AI tools are accelerating the pace of academic work by enabling faster data processing and facilitating complex analyses. Studies show that lecturers in Nigerian colleges of education are increasingly aware of AI's role in research processes, suggesting growing adoption for literature reviews, data analysis, and automated research tasks [2]. However, concerns about ethical use, plagiarism, and data integrity remain topics of active discussion among Nigerian academics [5].
Professor Uzo mentions a research ethics committee at Lagos Business School that deals with cases where the AI limit is exceeded. Covenant University sets a limit of 15%, below which Lagos Business School's limit is 20%, to regulate students' use of AI [4].
Dr. Victor Odumuyiwa, an associate professor of computer sciences at the University of Lagos, uses AI to clarify concepts, explore new developments in his field, and stay updated on literature. Dr. Mayowa Agboola, a senior lecturer at Covenant University, uses AI to compress time-consuming tasks, such as generating slide presentations and suggesting relevant readings for students [4].
Despite the challenges, there is a common sense of control among lecturers, with AI serving as an assistive tool rather than a replacement for their own thinking. Dr. Odumuyiwa believes that AI will excel at lower levels of learning and eventually create new knowledge as we advance [4].
Dr. Soji Alabi, an associate professor of communication at the University of Lagos, is among those who express reservations about the use of AI in the classroom. However, Dr. Odumuyiwa encourages students to use AI in class, stating, "I tell my students to open it in class, and we use it" [4]. He argues that the future of AI-powered academia involves redesigning the purpose of the class, moving away from producing answers and towards helping students ask better questions [4].
In summary, Nigerian lecturers are embracing AI as an assistive tool in their work, with a focus on maintaining academic integrity and fostering critical thinking. The academic community is actively discussing ethical, legal, and regulatory implications of AI in academia, focusing on issues like plagiarism, fraud, and the potential misuse of AI [5]. Despite the challenges, there is a growing consensus that AI is here to stay and must be integrated thoughtfully into teaching and research to maximize benefits.
In the context of education and self-development, Nigerian educators are adopting AI to generate lesson plans and learning materials tailored to local curricula, aiming to optimize learning outcomes. University lecturers are utilizing AI-powered tools to conduct research, expediting data processing and complex analyses, which is reshaping the academic landscape. However, concerns about ethical use, plagiarism, and maintaining critical thinking skills amongst students persist in the dialogue about AI's role in education, signifying an ongoing need for regulation and responsible integration.
