By Adedoyin Adeyemo
Published by Blacktalker
Digital tools like text-to-speech apps have become everyday companions. However, for many Nigerians, these tools often fail to get basic things right, including the mispronunciation of common names.
This piece examines how this seemingly minor issue highlights a much larger gap: the exclusion of African voices in the design and governance of AI systems.
Drawing on research and local innovation efforts, Adeyemo argues that for AI to truly serve Nigeria, it must be shaped by those who understand its people, languages, and realities.
In Nigeria, where more than 60% of the population is under 25, Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents an exciting opportunity with the potential to transform education, healthcare, agriculture, and employment.
However, without deliberate inclusion, it could also deepen the digital divide and exclude the very people it is meant to help, particularly women, girls, and individuals in underserved communities.
Too often, the technology we use isn’t built for us. It is often imported and trained on data from other regions, lacking knowledge of our languages, health challenges, and communication styles.
For instance, a chatbot trained in the U.S. may not recognize terms like “malaria” or “sickle cell,” diseases that affect millions of Nigerians. Similarly, a speech recognition tool trained on Western accents might struggle to understand phrases such as “I dey go house” or “e go rain today.”
This illustrates that we are not included in the decision-making process when these tools are being developed. When communities are absent from the design process, the resulting technologies often fail to meet their needs.
The issue extends beyond geography; it also touches on gender. According to the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report, women in Sub-Saharan Africa are 37% less likely than men to use mobile internet.
In Nigeria, this translates to millions of women and girls missing out on essential tools for modern life, from digital learning to telemedicine and online business. As AI systems increasingly shape access to services, healthcare, and employment, this digital exclusion becomes even more perilous.
This situation contradicts the goals set by the global community under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). AI must serve everyone and not just a privileged few if it is to be a tool for progress.
Nevertheless, there is hope. Across Nigeria, brilliant minds especiallyyoung people and women are developing solutions that reflect our unique context.
In Oyo State, for example, a team has created a tool called ADVISER, which uses AI to improve immunization campaigns, reaching over 13,000 families. In Kaduna, I have met women working on AI tools to monitor maternal health.
These innovations aren’t coming from Silicon Valley; they are being made by Nigerians for Nigerians.
Evidence supports this notion. Scholar Fatou Njie wrote in a 2022 paper that inclusive AI must be “built at the intersection of cultural fluency and technological innovation.”
She asserts that when communities are directly involved in designing and training algorithms, the outcomes are not only fairer but also more effective. Her research aligns with a common understanding: technology performs better when it comprehends the people it aims to serve.
Organizations like She Code Africa are demonstrating this on the ground. Their workshops and boot camps have trained thousands of girls and young women across Nigeria in coding, data science, and AI. These girls are becoming not just users of technology but also its creators. In areas where young girls had never envisioned a future in tech, they are now building projects that address local needs.
Such efforts directly contribute to SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), illustrating that when people are given the right tools and opportunities, they can create meaningful solutions for real challenges.
At the national level, we are also witnessing encouraging progress. Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2024–2027) outlines a vision for AI that is ethical, inclusive, and rooted in local knowledge. Supported by the Digital Economy Policy (2020–2030), this strategy prioritizes investment in education, infrastructure development, and the creation of systems that work for Nigerians.
Earlier this year, the National Assembly began developing Nigeria’s first legal framework for AI. This is a crucial step; if we want AI to benefit us, it must be governed by laws and policies that reflect our values, protect our people, and promote inclusive innovation.
However, policies alone are insufficient.
As Darrell West of Brookings emphasizes, technology tends to widen inequality unless it is shaped by deliberate and inclusive policymaking. This means not only creating laws but also ensuring that digital infrastructure reaches rural areas, that women have affordable access to mobile internet, and that local languages and cultures are integrated into the design and training of AI systems.
Most importantly, we need to reevaluate how we measure progress.
Globally, innovation is often evaluated by conventional metrics that do not consider the perspectives of those who are historically marginalized. In Nigeria, we must find ways to ensure that the benefits of AI reach everyone, creating systems that empower all people and foster equitable growth.
Success should mean relevance, impact, and inclusion. It’s not about catching up with the world; it’s about building a future that makes sense for us. That future should be one where a girl in Bauchi can learn to code.
A startup in Abeokuta can use AI to solve a problem in their neighborhood. Where voice assistants understand “abeg,” and where our names, our beautiful, meaningful names are said correctly, not butchered or ignored.
Nigeria doesn’t lack talent. What we often lack is the scaffolding to help that talent thrive: funding, mentorship, stable infrastructure, and platforms that trust and elevate local solutions.
We must move from being passive users of imported systems to active creators of technology that works in our context. We have stories worth telling, problems worth solving, and voices worth hearing.
If the future will be powered by artificial intelligence, then that future must reflect our humanity, our values, and our voices.
Because true progress is inclusive by design. And if it leaves people behind, it’s not progress at all.
About Adedoyin
Adedoyin Adeyemo is a storyteller and communications strategist at the intersection of governance, media, and technology. She crafts engaging narratives that simplify policy, promote transparency, and encourage inclusive digital engagement. Passionate about digital literacy and inclusive governance, she uses storytelling to drive social impact, exploring technology, policy, and public trust in Africa’s digital landscape.