Revolutionise Education in Africa with AI – Galaxy Backbone Boss

A professor of Cybersecurity and Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, has called on African leaders to modernise and revolutionise education with Artificial Intelligence.

Prof. Adeyanju made this call in Abuja while delivering the maiden Public Lecture of the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence) on “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Higher Education in Africa” on Thursday, 30 January 2025.

He emphasised the importance of education in advancing sustainable development and achieving socio-economic growth. He regretted that despite Africa’s progress in recent years, the continent remains constrained by backwardness in education, limiting its ability to compete with other regions of the world.

GBB is working on providing Infrastructure and services needed to support AI powered education initiatives.#artificialintelligence #commitmenttoexcellence #galaxybackbone @IbrahimAdeyanju pic.twitter.com/Zh47j3DBrI

— Galaxy Backbone (@Galaxybackbone) January 30, 2025

The AI expert identified low teacher effectiveness and a high number of out-of-school children as key issues hindering educational development in Africa. He advocated for the integration of AI to address these challenges.

According to him, “AI can revolutionise African education through language learning, chatbots, and virtual classrooms. It can also provide tailored learning experiences and improve access to quality education in remote areas.”

Also Read: African School of Economics VC Urges Ethical AI Use

Prof. Adeyanju recommended the development of culturally grounded and ethical frameworks, empowering educators through comprehensive training, bridging digital divides with strategic initiatives, fostering indigenous AI solutions, and addressing infrastructural deficits as part of the way forward for Africa in meeting future challenges.

Earlier in his address, titled “The Past is Present, The Future is Now,” the Vice-Chancellor of the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence), who was also the Chief Host of the event, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, decried the tendency of many people to outsource their natural intelligence to Artificial Intelligence.

He emphasised the need for ethical frameworks in AI utilisation and sounded a note of caution, likening AI to water and fire both indispensable and useful as long as they remain under human control but potentially dangerous if left unchecked.

The Vice-Chancellor also used the opportunity to highlight the African School of Economics as a conventional university offering a wide range of academic programmes, including Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, International Relations, Microbiology, Medical Laboratory Science, and Public Health, among others, for which admissions are still open this year.