The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has urged Nigerian youths to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) to build businesses, develop their skills and contribute to national development.
Kukah gave the advice while delivering the convocation lecture at Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State, on Thursday.
The lecture was titled The Pursuit of Happiness in a World of Moral Relativism.
The cleric encouraged young Nigerians to look beyond the shortcomings of political leaders and focus on using their education, skills and available technology to create opportunities and solve problems.
He acknowledged that issues such as poor leadership, perceived injustice and limited opportunities had contributed to frustration among young people.
However, he warned against allowing these challenges to discourage them from taking responsibility for their future.
According to Kukah, artificial intelligence is transforming several sectors, including education, medicine, banking, agriculture, law, engineering, business and government.
He urged graduates to explore the opportunities emerging from the technology and use them to establish enterprises and develop institutions.
“Your generation now possesses tools they could never have imagined. Courtesy of AI, this may be the best time in history to build,” Kukah said.
He added, “Build your lives. Build your families. Build enterprises. Build institutions. Build technology that serves human dignity.”
The bishop also challenged young Nigerians to reconsider their approach to national development, stressing that leadership should not be measured solely by political office.
“So, let us stop whining, focusing on office holders and their foibles and ask how we can all help to renew the face of the earth. Leadership is about ideas, not office holding,” he said.
Kukah noted that artificial intelligence could affect a significant portion of the global workforce, citing an International Monetary Fund estimate that the technology could affect about four in 10 jobs.
He therefore encouraged young people to acquire relevant skills and prepare for changes in the employment market.
Using the example of a tailor unable to complete school uniforms because of unreliable electricity, the bishop highlighted how infrastructure challenges could affect productivity and ordinary businesses.
He maintained that practical solutions were needed to address such difficulties.
On migration, Kukah acknowledged that some Nigerians would continue to seek opportunities abroad but advised those leaving the country not to abandon the possibility of contributing to development at home.
“Wherever you go, remain builders. But do not conclude too quickly that nothing can be built here,” he said.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Augustine University, Rev. Fr. Prof. Anthony Alaba Akinwale, urged Nigerians to distinguish the country’s challenges from its potential.
“Nigeria is not a tragedy,” Akinwale said, maintaining that the country possessed significant human and natural resources that could support national development.
The university’s Chancellor, Femi Otedola, also emphasised the importance of education in transforming individuals, families and communities.
Otedola reaffirmed his commitment to the institution’s development, including the completion of its Faculty of Engineering project, which is expected to be delivered by June 30, 2027.
The convocation lecture brought together university officials, graduates, parents and other stakeholders in the education sector.