Medical doctors across Nigeria are urging their colleagues and health institutions to adopt artificial intelligence more widely in the nation’s healthcare system, stressing that the technology could help improve diagnosis, treatment, and overall service delivery. The appeal came during a recent annual scientific conference of the University of Ilorin Medical Class of 2009, which brought together alumni health professionals practicing in Nigeria and abroad.
Participants at the virtual event emphasised that embracing innovation such as AI is increasingly important in a rapidly evolving medical landscape. Speakers noted that artificial intelligence offers opportunities to enhance clinical decision-making, streamline administrative processes, and address some of the persistent challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector, including limited specialist capacity and heavy patient workloads.
Highlighting the global context, contributors pointed to the World Health Organisation’s position that prioritising AI in health could be crucial for tackling major health challenges and advancing sustainable development goals. They said that AI has the potential to support predictive analytics, improve efficiency in patient care, and strengthen systems for disease management and prevention — benefits that could be especially valuable for countries with resource constraints.
A prominent speaker at the conference, a clinical AI specialist trained in the United States and United Kingdom, urged doctors to view Nigeria’s healthcare data as a significant but under-utilised asset. According to him, vast amounts of clinical data from the country’s diverse population could be harnessed to create AI tools that are both accurate and relevant to local health needs — something that current global AI models often fail to achieve due to limited representation of African data in their training sets.
The doctors also stressed that wider AI adoption should go hand in hand with strong training, ethical guidelines, and thoughtful regulation. They warned that without adequate oversight, the technology could risk widening gaps in care or undermining trust if it is used without proper safeguards or understanding of its limitations.
While some professional bodies in Nigeria have recently cautioned against over-reliance on AI without maintaining the core human elements of medical practice, the consensus in this conference was that AI should be seen as a tool to augment — not replace — clinical skills. Speakers underscored that human judgement, empathy, and ethical medical practice remain essential even as technologies evolve.
Doctors at the event encouraged further dialogue among medical associations, government agencies, and technology developers to create frameworks that support responsible AI use. They argued that with the right investment, training, and regulatory environment, artificial intelligence could help transform access to quality healthcare across Nigeria’s diverse communities.
