Nigerian chief executive officers are increasingly viewing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a complement to their workforce, rather than a replacement. This is one of the key findings from ‘PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey: Nigerian Perspective.’
According to the report, 72 percent of Nigerian CEOs expect AI to reshape their workforce and skills strategies, surpassing the regional average of 60 percent and the global average of 68 percent. Additionally, 61 percent anticipate AI becoming integral to their overall business strategy, while 67 percent believe it will drive the development of new products and services.
AI is also expected to transform day-to-day business operations. About 81 percent of Nigerian CEOs predict that AI will be embedded in business processes and workflows, slightly below the regional average of 83 percent but ahead of the global figure of 76 percent.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, AI’s adoption has grown, influencing how people work and live. While there were initial concerns that AI might replace human jobs due to its speed and efficiency, the current reality suggests a more collaborative future, where AI is integrated into workflows to enhance human productivity and outcomes.
About 83 percent of Nigerian CEOs expect AI to become a part of technological infrastructure in the coming years.
“CEOs are confident in AI’s transformative potential, recognising its capacity to drive innovation and efficiency. As AI becomes a core driver of business transformation, the challenge for leaders is to bridge the gap between ambition and execution, investing strategically in technology, data, and talent to harness AI’s transformative power,” said Olufemi Osinubi, WMA consulting and risk services leader, PwC Nigeria.
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According to Ola Williams, country manager for Microsoft Nigeria, “AI is influencing everything. It has become an important aspect of how we work and interact.”
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), AI can perform cognitive tasks and impact up to 40 percent of global employment. It is reshaping production processes and business operations across sectors.
“AI can bring productivity gains and increase the income of some workers, but also cause others to lose their jobs, reshaping workplace dynamics and labour demand,” it said in a new report.
In practice, AI can enhance human skills, improve quality and efficiency, providing advanced data analysis to support better decision-making. It can automate repetitive tasks such as proofreading, scheduling, and drafting emails, freeing employees to focus on more complex, human-centric activities.
UNCTAD highlighted that AI is best seen as a tool that augments human capabilities, allowing workers to apply soft skills more effectively. Google estimates that AI adoption could add $15 billion to Nigeria’s economy, as individuals and businesses leverage AI-powered tools to boost productivity.
“For Nigerian business leaders, the adoption of AI is emerging as a critical lever for long-term growth,” PwC stated.
However, the adoption of AI is not without challenges. Bernice Adeoti, a human resources expert, stressed the need for ethical boundaries. “There needs to be a line in terms of what AI can be used for and not,” she said.
Experts warn that caution will remain central to AI adoption, especially as concerns grow over transparency, cybersecurity, and data privacy. Also, increased adoption of AI raises the risk of cyberattacks.
“We’ve got a big privacy problem as our economy becomes increasingly digital,” said Marco Iansiti, a Harvard Business School professor.
“And interestingly, in some ways, the privacy and the cybersecurity problems are becoming increasingly tied together because one of the big challenges with data isn’t necessarily what the company will do on purpose, but what some rogue agents might do as they get in on the company’s networks from the outside illegally and start pilfering all kinds of personal data that they might use in all kinds of nefarious ways.”
Moreover, much of today’s AI is still text-based, limiting its application across certain industries. Nigeria also faces significant gaps in digital infrastructure that could hinder large-scale AI deployment in the present.
