The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have warned that artificial intelligence (AI), despite its enormous potential to stimulate economic growth, could worsen Nigeria’s unemployment crisis if the government fails to prepare workers for the changing labour market and harness the technology to create productive jobs.
The warning comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s capacity to generate sufficient employment for its expanding workforce, with millions of job seekers facing the challenge of securing sustainable livelihoods.
Speaking at the Small AI: More and Better Jobs event during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva described AI as a “slow-moving tsunami”, cautioning that its impact on employment could become increasingly difficult to manage without early intervention.
Georgieva estimated that about 40 per cent of jobs worldwide could be affected by AI, with some transformed, others downgraded and some eliminated altogether.
For Nigeria, where unemployment and underemployment remain significant economic concerns, the development presents a critical challenge: whether AI will create new opportunities for millions of workers or displace them faster than alternative jobs can emerge.
The IMF chief emphasised the need for countries to understand the implications of the technology and equip their populations with the skills required to adapt to an increasingly technology-driven economy.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga similarly argued that job creation must remain at the centre of economic development, insisting that technological progress should deliver tangible benefits to ordinary people.
“The bank’s entire focus has to be on jobs,” Banga said, advocating the deployment of AI to improve productivity, expand access to essential services and create economic opportunities rather than merely replace human labour.
Banga highlighted the potential of affordable and practical AI applications to improve services in education, healthcare and agriculture, particularly in developing economies where access to advanced technology remains limited.
He explained that a farmer, for instance, could use an ordinary mobile phone to photograph a diseased crop and receive guidance on how to treat it.
The technology could also connect the farmer to improved seeds, fertilisers, credit facilities, insurance and market information, helping to increase agricultural productivity and strengthen rural livelihoods.
In healthcare, AI-enabled tools could assist frontline medical workers in assessing patients, identifying possible health conditions and determining which cases require specialist attention.
These applications fall within the concept of “Small AI”, which focuses on affordable, practical and locally adapted technological solutions designed around the languages, infrastructure, budgets and needs of communities.
Rather than relying exclusively on sophisticated and expensive systems, the approach seeks to make AI accessible to businesses, public institutions and individuals who might otherwise be excluded from its benefits.
For Nigeria, such applications could support improvements in agriculture, education, healthcare, financial services, logistics and public administration, while helping small businesses operate more efficiently.
The World Bank’s October 2026 Africa Economic Update identifies Nigeria, alongside Kenya and South Africa, among Africa’s leading centres of AI activity.
However, the report indicates that adoption remains at an early stage, highlighting the need to adapt accessible AI technologies to the continent’s economic realities.
Nigeria’s large population, entrepreneurial sector and expanding digital economy could provide opportunities for AI-driven innovation. Nevertheless, converting that potential into widespread economic benefits will require more than simply introducing new technologies.
Unreliable electricity supply, inadequate internet access, limited digital literacy and poor-quality data remain major obstacles to the adoption of AI across many parts of the country.
These challenges could widen existing inequalities, allowing technologically equipped businesses and skilled workers to benefit while leaving vulnerable workers and smaller enterprises further behind.
Without deliberate investment in digital infrastructure, education, vocational training and workforce retraining, AI could deepen economic disparities instead of helping to reduce them.
The concerns raised by the IMF and the World Bank underscore the importance of preparing Nigeria’s workforce for technological changes before their effects become more pronounced.
Government policies, educational programmes and private-sector investment will be crucial in helping workers acquire the skills needed to work alongside AI systems or transition into emerging occupations.
Businesses will also have to consider how AI can complement human capabilities, improve output and support the creation of new products and services rather than focus exclusively on reducing labour costs.
For Nigeria, the priority should be to ensure that technological advancement translates into decent employment, higher productivity and improved living standards.
The central question is therefore not simply how quickly the country can adopt artificial intelligence, but whether it can build the infrastructure, skills base and economic environment necessary to make the technology work for its people.
As the IMF and the World Bank raise the alarm, Nigeria faces a defining policy choice: harness AI as an instrument of job creation and economic inclusion or risk allowing technological change to intensify an already pressing employment crisis.
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