Young Nigerians Expect to Use AI. Who Is Teaching Them?

Nine in ten young Nigerians who took part in a new study of Commonwealth countries expect to use AI for school or work within the next year. That is the highest share of any country in it. The same study gives Nigeria 0.8 out of 10 for digital, data, media and AI capability.

Read those two numbers together and you have the state of AI in Nigerian workplaces in 2026. The appetite is there. The skill is not, yet.

## What the index found

The 2026 Commonwealth Youth AI Readiness Index, published by the Ayre Think Tank and unveiled at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, looks at people aged 15 to 29 in all 56 Commonwealth countries. Nigeria came 15th, with 54.5 points out of 100 against a benchmark of 53. Only three African members cleared that line: Mauritius in 8th place, South Africa in 13th and Nigeria. Of the fifteen countries that made it, Nigeria was the lowest placed.

The index also puts a value on getting this right. In its moderate scenario, AI adds about $5.2 billion to Nigeria's GDP after ten years. Its conservative case is about $2.6 billion and its optimistic case about $7.9 billion, three times as much. [BusinessDay has a good summary of the Nigeria findings](https://businessday.ng/news/article/ai-enthusiasm-outpaces-skills-as-nigeria-risks-missing-5-2bn-gdp-opportunity/), and [Daily Trust covered the ranking](https://dailytrust.com/nigeria-ranks-15th-in-commonwealth-youth-ai-readiness/).

One caution, which the authors make themselves. The index measures the conditions around young people, not the ability of each one. It does not test whether a 22-year-old graduate in Yaba can use AI well. It tells you whether the system around that graduate is set up to help.

## The keenness is the good news

I would rather start from 90 per cent enthusiasm than from suspicion. In many markets the hard part of AI adoption is getting people to try it at all. Nigeria does not have that problem. Many young people here are already trying these tools on their own phones and in their own time.

Earlier this year I wrote about [the hidden AI performers already inside most companies](/blog/hidden-ai-performers-inside-your-company), the people who taught themselves and quietly got faster. This index says Nigeria has a great many more of them on the way.

## The gap is where the risk sits

Enthusiasm without skill does not stay harmless at work. A keen new hire with no training and no approved tools will use whatever is free, and that is how a customer list ends up pasted into a chatbot to tidy a report. I call this BROAI, Bring Your Own AI. It is the same problem [NITDA warned organisations about in October](/blog/nitda-public-ai-tools-sensitive-data-ai-governance), when it told staff not to put sensitive data into public AI tools.

I read the 0.8 as being about much more than writing prompts. Knowing when an answer is wrong, where the data came from and what you are allowed to share are the skills that keep AI use safe. A free tool will not teach any of them.

## What employers can do now

Universities will not close this gap in time for the people joining your company next year. It will be closed at work, or it will not be closed. Five things make the difference.

1. **Train on the real job.** A general AI awareness session changes very little. An hour using AI on the team's own tasks, with someone who knows the work checking the output, changes habits. 2. **Give people approved tools and one page of rules.** Say which tools they can use, what data can never go into any of them and who to ask when they are unsure. People follow clear rules. When there are none, they work around the gap. 3. **Pair the keen with the experienced.** The 24-year-old often knows the tool better. The manager knows what a good answer looks like. Put them on the same task and both improve. 4. **Measure the work, not the usage.** Counting logins tells you nothing. Compare turnaround times, error rates or customer response times before and after. I set out how in [How to Measure ROI on AI](/blog/measure-roi-on-ai). 5. **Hire for it, and test it.** Ask candidates to do a short real task with AI in front of you and talk you through how they checked the result. You will learn more than from any CV line that says "proficient in ChatGPT".

This is the Train and Transform phase of [the SWITCH Method](/switch-method), and it works best once you know what people are already using.

## A word to the young people reading this

Being keen is an advantage, so use it. Learn to check an answer as well as to get one. Keep a record of real work you have done with AI, with the before and after, and show it when you interview. The employers who understand this will notice.

The index ranks Nigeria 15th, and nothing about that is fixed. Where we land next time depends a great deal on what happens inside companies over the coming year.

What is your organisation doing to train the people who are already using AI? I would like to hear what is working.

If you want your team trained on AI using its own work, see [speaking and training](/speaking) or [work with me](/work-with-me). If you are early in your career and want to build these skills, [Digital Tech Sales Academy](/academy) and my [mentorship programme](/mentorship) are where I spend that time.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the Commonwealth Youth AI Readiness Index?** A 2026 study by the Ayre Think Tank that scores the conditions for AI readiness among people aged 15 to 29 in all 56 Commonwealth countries. It was unveiled at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.

**Where does Nigeria rank?** 15th of 56, with 54.5 points against a benchmark of 53. Nigeria is one of three African members above the benchmark, with Mauritius and South Africa.

**What is Nigeria's main weakness in the index?** Skills. Nigeria scores 0.8 out of 10 for digital, data, media and AI capability, while about 90 per cent of young respondents expect to use AI for education or work within a year.

**How much could AI add to Nigeria's economy?** The index's moderate scenario is about $5.2 billion added to GDP after ten years, with a conservative case of about $2.6 billion and an optimistic one of about $7.9 billion.

*Stanislaus Martins advises and trains organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa on practical AI adoption and governance, and founded Digital Tech Sales Academy.*