Abuja: An economist, Dr Chinedu Amadi, has urged Nigerians to leverage the opportunities inherent in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to become competitive in the global business and social spaces. Amadi, President of the Organisation of Youth in International Trade and Commerce (OY-ITC), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Amadi highlighted that humanity has always advanced by expanding its intelligence and capabilities through technology across different eras. He emphasized that AI now drives economic systems, social interactions, and competitive advantage among nations globally.
‘The world is entering a phase where humans and intelligent machines will share cognitive functions, so Nigeria should innovate or risk being sidelined in the emerging global digital order. The next frontier extends beyond AI tools to a deeper relationship between human consciousness and machine intelligence. This phase has the dawn of shared human-machine cognition shaping future innovation and development worldwide,’ he said.
Amadi noted that countries like the U.S., Japan, and China have already integrated AI into national planning, logistics, and defense operations. He warned that a deeper wave of collaboration between humans and intelligent systems is rapidly emerging.
He urged Nigeria and other African nations not to remain passive observers in this technological transition. ‘Nigeria must innovate urgently or risk missing another major industrial revolution. Future global leadership will favor nations that create, regulate, and ethically manage advanced technologies,’ he added.
He said that the youthful population is viewed as a potential cognitive economy capable of driving digital creativity. He advised policymakers and institutions to develop indigenous technologies, reflecting national priorities and moral values.
The president, however, noted that the energy and agricultural sectors can gain efficiency through predictive AI and advanced computation, adding that governance can also benefit from digital systems that strengthen transparency and curb corruption. He said that neural interfaces and quantum processing would soon merge human thought with computation.
Amadi said that the evolution demands ethical guidance, empathy, and deeper human conscience in the education system. According to him, nations worldwide are racing to regulate AI, and Nigeria also needs to define its strategic position. ‘The future beyond AI will favor societies that balance innovation with wisdom and uphold human dignity,’ he said.