Stakeholders in the education sector have urged students and youths in the country to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to ensure that they use it positively as a tool for learning and innovation to change the society.
Speaking in Lagos on Friday at The Encounter 2026 Symposium, titled: “AI For Good…From Innovation To Impact,” Director-General of the Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Dr. Sulaimon Ogunmuyiwa, advised the youths, comprising students from various schools in Lagos, who gathered physically and virtually, to
exercise caution with the use of AI to avoid misinformation, online risks and misuse of technology.
While assessing the topic of debate by students at the Symposium, titled: ” AI, A Friend Or Enemy Of The Nigerian Youth,”
Ogunmuyiwa commended their performances, their teachers and schools heads, describing them as impressive and evidence of the quality of education in Lagos State.
“I couldn’t differentiate between a student was from a public and private school. I want to give kudos to the teachers, school owners and public school principals who have been doing a very good job. The students have demonstrated that education in Lagos State is not doing badly at all,” he said.
He advised students against relying entirely on information generated by AI, urging them to verify information repeatedly and protect their personal identities when using digital platforms.
“My message to the students is that they have to take everything with a bit of caution. You don’t have to trust AI 100 per cent. Take your time to check and check again. They should also protect themselves because they are still young and have a whole future ahead of them,” he said.
He said that regulating education in the states is the duty of his office, adding: “We regulate, we evaluate and monitor to improve schools, whether public or private, primary or secondary.”
While advising the they should embrace Artificial Intelligence, he said that AI has come to stay, “Whether we see it as a friend or as an enemy. This debate is not going to push it away.”
The OEQA Director-General also urged parents to take greater responsibility for their children’s digital activities by activating parental controls on their devices, while urging adults and educators to remain ahead of young people in understanding emerging technologies.
“Parents have a lot to do. They should learn how to put parental controls on all the devices given to their children. As parents, we have absolute responsibility over what these children do or do not do,” he added.
Also at the Symposium, Convener of the Encounter Series, Seun Oyedeji, described the symposium as apt, affirming that AI has come to stay and has become an integral part of modern life, which required collective attention from policymakers, parents, guardians and educators.
Oyedeji noted that while AI offers significant opportunities for creativity, research, education and information dissemination, cautioning that “it also presents serious dangers through misinformation, manipulated videos and other forms of digital deception.”
According to her: “AI could be both a friend and an enemy, depending on how individuals choose to deploy it.
“Artificial intelligence is good. It has come to make life easier for us. It is a blessing, but it could become a curse if we are not intentional about how we deploy it.”
While expressing concern over the exposure of children to digital devices, Oyedeji lamented that some youths are already finding ways to bypass parental controls.
She advised parents to determine the appropriate age for introducing digital devices to their children, monitor the platforms they access and maintain open conversations about responsible technology use.
She also cautioned that excessive dependence on AI could weaken creativity and originality, particularly among young people and professionals, despite its ability to provide information quickly and improve productivity.
The convener stressed that AI should complement human creativity rather than replace independent thinking, adding that its emergence should challenge professionals to improve the quality of their work.
The symposium brought together students from secondary schools, universities and polytechnics, with discussions and debates designed to promote awareness of the opportunities and potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
She said the symposium was deliberate to encourage youth to use AI positively, resist peer pressure to deploy the technology for harmful purposes.
She maintained that AI could help Nigerian youths embrace solutions aimed at changing the country and the world if used positively.
Ezekiel David of Platform School, one of the participating students at the Symposium, described AI as more of a friend than an enemy.
He affirmed that it helps youths to adapt to changing trends, acquire new knowledge and respond to the demands of a growing economy.
He encouraged his fellow students not to fear the technology but to learn from it and embrace its positive applications.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of AI adoption awards to some companies, and presentation of gifts to the best schools. Mandate College got N200,000 as the third runner up; second runner up is Government Senior College, which got N400,000; while Platform College, Lagos, emerged the best, getting cash reward of N500,000.
