As the world adopts the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to automate tasks previously performed by humans, academicians from various parts of Nigeria have advocated that the continent should not accept robots built without consideration for African cultures and values.
The Pan Africanist, who made the call over the weekend in Abuja, during a symposium in memory of late Professor Okello Oculi, highlighted that this would only add to Leo colonialism, which would do further damage to the young African population.
Speaking during the memorial, Professor Adele Jinadu, said that Africa is at the crossroads of recievering the AI products and preserving her culture, insisting that there are other serious crises between the elites who govern the African nations and political scientists over the neo-colonialism.
“We should be careful because the Western world would never allow African culture to be dominant. This is because it saves Africa from being assimilated into its own cultures.
It also saves us from making our own decisions. But on the other hand, the African elites who are subservient to the Western world would fight Pan African political scientists, thereby making things difficult.
The death of many African leaders says it all. I am aware that the late President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, was on the way to uniting African countries to fight this common enemy of anti-pan-Africanism. But he was killed to stop that ambition.
Professor Istifanus Zabadi of Usman Dan Fodio Sokoto, who was the Chairman organizing committee, amplified the awareness for an AI built with African culture to help promote Nigerian languages and cultures.
He said that promoting Pan Africanism, remains the life ambition of the man being celebrated.
Also speaking, Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu of Political Science, UNN, and a former INEC official, posited that the story of Africa should not be told by the Western World made AI, but the one made by Africans themselves, insisting that Africa has a lot to do in that regard, including sensitization, and creating awareness through written language and symposiums.
Speaking on the exemplary life of Professor Okello Oculi, a Ugandan who chose to become a Nigerian by circumstance, Emma Shehu Usman elicited that the late Professor Okello’s commitment to African unity and solidarity was absolute. ” He pioneered the legendary organization of African Unity (OAU) mock summit as part of his undergraduate course. This was not just a classroom exercise; it was an event that simulated Continental diplomacy, requiring students to represent African countries, debate policy, and mimic the head of State.
“The mock Summit became a celebrated, continent-wide phenomenon that significantly deepens students’ knowledge and commitment to the Pan-American ideal. This initiative was central to his life’s work to ignite minds and champion indigenous thought over colonial shadows,” he said.
The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of a mock African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, acted by students of Anglican Girls Grammar School (AGGS), Wuse, Abuja.
Dramas, focusing on the need for African culture integration in AI programming, were presented by selected Unity Schools across the FCT, to drive home the message on Africa’s position on the use of AI.
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