by Christian Oyedeji
https://www.digital.zenithbank.com/ZEQ/ZEQ-jan-2026/index.html#p=1AI has entered Nigerian education.
Not through policy.
Not through planning.
Through students.
Today, a secondary school student can generate an essay in 10 seconds.
Solve past questions in one click.
Summarise an entire topic before the teacher finishes writing on the board.
That sounds impressive—until we ask one question:
Are they learning, or are they outsourcing their brains?
This is now a WAEC/NECO/JAMB issue
For decades, Nigerian students have relied on “expo culture,” shortcuts, and miracle methods.
AI is simply the newest weapon.
It can generate answers that look smart.
But “looking smart” is not the same as understanding.
WAEC and NECO do not award marks for confidence.
They award marks for correct reasoning, clear steps, and accurate concepts.
The danger is simple:
Students who overdepend on AI will enter exams unprepared for real thinking.
And when the pressure hits, they will panic.
Tutorial centres will amplify this
Let’s be honest: Nigerian tutorial centres move fast.
If AI becomes the new “success strategy,” many centres will sell it like magic.
“AI can guarantee A1.”
“AI can beat JAMB.”
“AI can write your essays.”
But AI cannot sit for your exam. You will.
If we allow this culture to grow unchecked, we will produce a generation trained to copy, not to solve.
AI also carries bias and misinformation
AI does not always understand Nigerian contexts.
It may explain civic topics using foreign assumptions.
It may give outdated information.
It may present false facts confidently.
And Nigerian students, already drowning in online misinformation, will absorb it faster than they verify it.
Schools need rules, not vibes
Many schools are pretending AI is not their problem.
That is foolish.
AI must be addressed like calculators were addressed:
guided use, not banned panic.
Here is what every school in Nigeria should implement:
1) Clear AI policy
What is allowed? What is cheating? What is misconduct?
2) AI literacy in the curriculum
Not “how to use ChatGPT.”
But how AI works, why it fails, and how bias enters it.
3) Assessment reform
More oral defence, step-by-step working, and in-class reasoning tasks.
4) Teacher training
Teachers must know how AI is being used, not guess blindly.
5) Parent awareness
Parents must stop celebrating “nice English” that the child cannot explain.
What students must understand
AI is not your enemy.
But it is not your saviour.
Use AI to learn faster—not to avoid learning.
If AI writes your work and you can’t explain it, you didn’t learn anything.
You just printed intelligence you do not own.
Certificates are common. Skills are rare.
Nigeria needs the second one.
