A leading voice in African media innovation, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, founder of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), has made a passionate call for the ethical, inclusive, and purpose-driven use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to safeguard democracy and ensure media sustainability across the continent. Simultaneously, technology experts have warned of the urgent need to bridge Nigeria’s AI knowledge gap through robust collaboration and culturally-rooted innovation.
Olorunyomi’s message was delivered at a forum themed “Unlocking Nigeria’s AI Potentials for Media Sustainability and Democracy,” convened by the New Thought Media Support Foundation (NTMSF). He was represented by Mr. Monsur Hussein, Innovation Lead at CJID.
AI Must Serve the Public Good and Uphold Truth
Emphasizing that technological revolutions have always carried both “promise and peril,” Olorunyomi stressed that Africa must deliberately shape AI’s trajectory to serve the public good.
“The survival of democracy depends not only on strong institutions and civic will, but also on innovation, knowledge and imagination,” Hussein stated on Olorunyomi’s behalf. The critical question, he noted, is whether this transformation will strengthen democracy or subvert it.
The Danger of Mechanized Truth
While acknowledging AI’s role in boosting newsroom efficiency—from detecting deepfakes to generating stories—Olorunyomi warned of the profound ethical and democratic risks.
“The real danger is not that AI will replace journalists, but that it might replace judgment,” he warned. “Truth itself could become mechanized, stripped of nuance, divorced from ethics and devoid of empathy.”
He argued that media organizations can no longer rely on traditional measures of strength like circulation and advertising. In the AI era, survival hinges on three new assets: trust, data, and relevance.
“In a world flooded with falsehoods, credibility is our rarest asset,” he said.
Marginalization of African Realities
A significant concern raised was the marginalization of African languages, culture, and data in global AI models, which are predominantly trained on Western data.
“When our languages are absent from technology, our realities become invisible,” he argued, stressing the link between knowledge and power. To counter this, CJID has launched initiatives like the Dubawa Audio Platform, which fact-checks radio content in several African languages, and a WhatsApp chatbot for real-time citizen verification.
Olorunyomi concluded with a rallying call for Africa to actively build, not just consume, AI technologies, declaring: “AI is not destiny—it is a tool. Its meaning lies in the hands of those who build it.”
Experts Urge Nigeria to Close Knowledge Gap
In a separate high-level panel at the same forum, technology and education experts stressed the immediate need for Nigeria to bridge its AI knowledge gap and develop technologies that reflect its own culture and reality.
Dr. Olusola Ayoola, founder of RAIN Robotics, highlighted the disconnect between academic training and industry needs, noting that without corrective action, Nigeria risks training people who can only use imported AI tools.
“We got into the party very late,” Ayoola admitted, “But Nigeria still has an advantage — our unique datasets. These can be leveraged to train AI systems that reflect our realities, if we invest in skills and infrastructure.”
The Call for Quadruple Helix Collaboration
Professor Suleiman Yar’adua, a communication scholar, emphasized that a thriving AI ecosystem requires a “quadruple helix”—a structured collaboration between academia, industry, government, and society. He criticized the current weak link between universities and industry, where companies rarely support curriculum development or provide meaningful internship opportunities.
“If any part of this structure is weak, the entire system suffers,” he cautioned, calling for a policy shift in education to ensure that the best practitioners are training the next generation of experts.
Culturally Rooted AI as a Unique Advantage
Reinforcing the importance of local context, Professor Musa Aibinu, a development communication expert, stressed the necessity of embedding cultural values into AI systems.
“For AI to work for us, it must be designed within our political structures, cultural values, and societal norms,” he asserted. By leveraging its unique data and context, Nigeria is gradually creating its own universe within the global AI ecosystem, a development that could soon be valuable to the rest of the world.
Panelists agreed that decisive action on skills, educational reform, and cross-sector collaboration is crucial, warning that failure to act will leave Nigeria dependent on foreign technologies, with little control over its own data and future.
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