Lagos State Government and experts in the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector have advised Nigerian youth to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in solving societal challenges.
Speaking at the 2025 Commonwealth Day organised by the Tantacom Group and the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) in Lagos, the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, said AI has not only transformed how people work but also redefined the very essence of productivity and creativity.
Ogunlende said the impact of AI on work cannot be overstated.
He noted that across industries, AI has altered how tasks are completed, reducing the time and effort required to achieve results.
He said: “AI as an ally empowering the Youth for the Future of Work. Instead of viewing AI as a threat, young people must embrace it as a partner in their professional journey.
“AI offers three key advantages that can reshape the future of work for youth. Whether in writing, music production, app development, or business strategy, AI allows young innovators to test their ideas quickly and refine them before presenting them to the world.
“A young entrepreneur can now use AI to draft a business proposal, generate a financial model, and create a marketing strategy—all within a day.
“AI-powered learning platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, and Khan Academy provide young people with access to world-class education at their fingertips.
“Skills that once required years of formal education can now be acquired online within months.
“AI is not just about automation; it is also creating new job roles. Fields such as AI ethics, machine learning engineering, data science, and AI-assisted design are emerging industries where young people can carve out lucrative careers.”
On his part, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, Art and Culture, Idris Aregbe, said the Lagos State Government is ready to support young people who are into AI.
He said technology will help to create more jobs for the young people.
He said: “During the photography test phase of the world, some of the photographers tell us that with the advent of the new, from analog to digital, this is going to be a very big problem for us in our community.
“I am not sure if you can just flip back to that time and now. Do we have more or fewer photographers now? We have more. So, that is just the answer.
“Whatever you’re seeing today or what the AI is representing is for the future. It’s not going to affect anything.
“All you just need to do is to be able to tap into it, and the AI will bounce. People say it is the future.
“I don’t think it is the future. It is here. It is now. We need to move with it and start to take advantage of AI.
“So, I want to appeal to you to please let us go with this and make sure that we sustain it. We in Lagos, we have things for you to do.
“We are ready, and we will continue to go forward with this. And we will continue to support every young person out there who is also making a difference.”
In her welcome address, the Co-CEO of Tantacom, Jennifer Odufuwa, said the theme of this year’s Commonwealth Day is a call to collaborate, innovate, and create a future where no one is left behind in the digital age.
Odufuwa said AI is changing industries, redefining jobs, and creating new opportunities at an unprecedented pace. She said: “AI is the foundation of the future.
“It is transforming sectors from finance to healthcare, from agriculture to creative industries.
“It is eliminating outdated job roles while creating new ones. It is demanding that we rethink education, skills, and workforce readiness. But here’s the truth: AI will not replace people.”
The Co-CEO of Tantacom Group,
Olufunke Adu, said the Commonwealth Day is not an event but a movement designed for youth across 56 countries in the world to come together to find opportunity in artificial intelligence.
Adu said: “We love youth empowerment. We like to bridge the gap between opportunities. So that is why we thought that we should lead that conversation. We want young people to learn to leverage artificial intelligence, knowing that it is the future of work.
“And without artificial intelligence, it might be difficult for them to actually do better in the future and also to let them know that AI is not futuristic. It is now. So they need to take action by beginning to upscale themselves in artificial intelligence.”
The Country Representative of Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), Abdbasit Saba, said the Council will continue to ensure that young people across the world are acknowledged for their contribution to the development of AI.
Saba said: “There is something unique in Nigeria about the way we show up for opportunities. We don’t wait. We don’t hesitate. We see a chance to move forward, and we take it boldly, unapologetically and with excellence.
“And that is exactly why we are here today. We are gathered under the banner of the Commonwealth and also the Commonwealth Youth Council, a platform that exists not just to amplify our voices but also to ensure that young people across the world are acknowledged.
“CYC is the single largest youth-led organization in the world, giving a voice to over 1.5 million young people across 56 Commonwealth nations. But let’s be clear: this is not just about voicing.”
The Chief Partnership Officer at Wema Bank, Ajibade Laolu-Adewale, said that in the world today, someone won’t be able to survive without AI.
He said human beings won’t be able to live their lives properly without AI-driven tools solving problems.
He said: “So, technically, today, I was able to speak to the students, and it was around what the future of work looks like.
“AI will enable them to be better at what they want to do. AI creates opportunities around several sectors and industries. AI will get better along the line as you look at it.
“AI has qualified and ticked all the boxes to be a general purpose technology. And based on that, they should imbibe and join all the conversations around AI. So what will AI do differently as they study in their various fields? Like I said, AI will get better along the line.”
For her part, the President of JCI Nigeria, Oluwatoyin Atanda, said the youth should embrace AI because AI is not in competition with them. She said AI gives young people the opportunity to upscale themselves and be better individuals.
She said: When we have better individuals, we would have better workplace. I am in the learning and development space, and now we are seeing quite a lot of innovations that would help us move faster.
“Instead of us doing a task in two days or three days, AI can eliminate those deliveries, and we could do that in less than 24 hours. That is how this is going come up.
“So, young people should adapt because adaptation is very important. Change is a continuous and constant thing, and we, as young people, have to ensure that we constantly equip ourselves to be better individuals.”
