Good People, if you are paying attention, you ought to have noticed that some of the leading technology companies are now firing workers at scale. From Spotify to Amazon to your local banks, companies are automating tasks and jobs are being disintermediated.

In Nigeria, technology has delivered great rains as when you look at banking data, the number of workers has dropped even as profit and assets have increased, for years now! Simply, technology has improved and cushioned productivity, and not many humans are needed in the payrolls.

There are implications: in this decade, many will lose their jobs. And also, many will get great jobs. Since the industrial revolution, that has been a constant: technology brings new ordinances in markets, causing career displacements, even though, over time, it is a net positive, as new jobs – typically better – will be created.

My message: do not just sit down and think it will not happen to you. You need a plan and part of that plan will be how to make whatever you do to be retrofitted with tech. If you do that, they cannot fire you because you will replace yourself, and that means you keep your job. 

What can AI do in your field? In Tekedia Institute, we have put a great program to help people navigate this redesign. If you have not started, it may be something to explore.

Tekedia Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Business Masterclass focuses on how AI (artificial intelligence) will redesign the world of business, and re-architect economies even as it transforms markets, communities, and organizations.  Participants will gain the knowledge capabilities, and confidence, required to support the integration of AI systems into their organizations, and advance their professional careers.  Coordinated by Tekedia Institute Lead Faculty, Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe (doctoral degrees in electrical/computer engineering with specialization in robotics & neuromorphic engineering, and Banking & Finance), the multidisciplinary program runs for 8 weeks.

Very bad decisions by our policymakers in Nigeria. In  secondary school, they push you to specialize after the 3rd year. So, from SSI (4th year), you move into Arts, Science, Technology, etc lines. Possibly, if you decide to do Further Mathematics, you may not be lucky to do Economics because WAEC has restricted you to 9 subjects.

 (Even as a kid in the village, I found that very sub-optimal, and took 15 subjects in secondary school, and decided to write external WAEC (i.e. GCE) while in secondary school. That decision enabled me to study Economics and the typical Art courses even as I continued in secondary school for Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Further Mathematics, etc).

What Nigeria does in WAEC is not the best in my opinion. We’re restricting our young people too early. Contrast this with the United States where in secondary school, every kid studies the same thing. Yes, irrespective of your call for engineering, economics, music, etc, GED (WAEC equivalent)  has about 4 subjects for all. Those 4 subjects – mathematical reasoning, reasoning through language arts, social studies, and science –  cover more than 30 subjects we have in WAEC.  Notice that they do not teach Mathematics, they teach mathematical reasoning, and that means pushing you into what that mathematics can help you solve.

With WAEC severely over-specialized, the universities and polytechnics have picked the memo.  In the university now, Nigeria gets 4-5 departments from a typical former EEE department. They have broken my FUTO undergraduate degree – Electrical and Electronics Engineering with option in Electronics and Computer Engineering – into five degrees. 

This is unfortunate because there’s no need for this nonsense other than finding paths for more admission quotas and school fees. The polytechnic education could have made these new areas options under HND computer science, so, you still study HND Computer Science and can specialize in your final year in AI. And the certficate will read: HND Computer Science with option in Artificial Intelligence.

Notice that increasingly some of these students when they go for further education abroad, they would be required to take many prerequisites. For example, if you did BSC AI and want to do MSC in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, you will have to take many prerequisites before they will allow you to begin the main program.

I call our leaders to rethink these policies.

Nigeria’s dollar bonds maturing in 2025 have witnessed an alarming seven-day losing streak, marking their longest decline since September, according to Bloomberg.

The sharp drop in bond prices comes in the wake of a high-profile raid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the Lagos headquarters of Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person and head of the Dangote Group.

Investors, both local and international, are closely monitoring the unfolding drama, as the bonds hit their lowest levels since November 28, according to Bloomberg data. The EFCC raid, which took place on January 4, 2024, has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s financial industry, raising concerns about the broader implications for the country’s economic stability.

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the director-general of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, said the situation has triggered concerns within the industrial sector.

“Manufacturers are concerned that if this can happen to Dangote, it can happen to any one of them. They are worried,” he said.

The association criticized the aggressive tactics employed by the EFCC, highlighting the potential economic consequences and warning of a chilling impact on the nation’s economy.

“This news has gone around the world and many, including would-be investors, would be taken aback. This may not be the best way to show that Nigeria is committed to good corporate governance,” Ajayi-Kadir said in a separate statement.

The EFCC’s focus on the funding of Dangote’s $18.5 billion refinery, granted access to scarce dollars by the central bank, adds complexity to the unfolding narrative. The raid and subsequent investigation methods have unnerved business leaders and investors, prompting a reevaluation of their dealings with the central bank under Godwin Emefiele, the former central bank governor ousted in June.

Cheta Nwanze of SBM Intelligence suggested that the government’s actions are signaling a warning to the business community.

“It’s basically a signal to the business community that this government will go after anyone who they perceive may have the means to help fill the dollar gap in the government’s coffers,” he said.

Bloomberg’s analysis suggests subtle indications preceding the events, part of it, President Bola Tinubu’s absence during the inauguration of Dangote’s oil refinery in May 2023. Tinubu’s subsequent suspension of Emefiele and aggressive reforms in the foreign exchange regime further signaled a shift in economic policy, potentially straining relations with influential figures in the business community.

The Dangote Group vehemently denied any wrongdoing, describing the EFCC raid as an “unwarranted embarrassment.” The lack of public statements from the anti-graft commission has added to the uncertainty, leaving both domestic and international investors skeptical about Nigeria’s commitment to good corporate governance.

Tinubu’s critical stance on the central bank’s forex practices, coupled with Emefiele’s arrest and ongoing trial, portrays a government determined to overhaul economic policies. The scrutiny faced by Dangote is seen by some as part of a broader process to reform and bring transparency to Nigeria’s financial sector.

Despite the government’s intentions, investors remain unconvinced. Total capital inflows declined significantly, dropping 44% to $655 million in the third quarter of 2023 from $1.16 billion a year earlier, according to Bloomberg. The Manufacturers Association expressed concern over the appropriateness of the methods employed during the EFCC raid, questioning the need for an armed invasion at a well-structured company like Dangote Industries Ltd.

This fallout between Dangote and the EFCC has put the nation at an economic crossroads. Investors and industry leaders anxiously await the outcome of the investigation, hoping for a transparent and fair process that will reassure them of Nigeria’s commitment to good governance and economic stability.