Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development in Nigerian Higher Education: The Need for a Responsive Legal and Regulatory Framework

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought revolutionary opportunities to the education system across the world, providing new solutions to pedagogy, research, and management processes. In Nigeria, where the education sector is under sieged by limited resources, poor infrastructures and lack of pedagogies, AI presents a channel through which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be accelerated by offering equal access to quality education. However, the implementation and putting AI technologies into practice are still disjointed due to the lack of an all-inclusive legal and regulation framework. This paper explores the current situation with AI in the context of higher education in Nigeria, compares it with the trends in the rest of the world, and critically evaluates the implications on sustainable development. It highlights key legal, ethical, and governance barriers, such as privacy of data, bias in the algorithm, intellectual property, and institutional inefficiency. The paper based on the international best practices claims that a responsive legal and regulatory environment should be promoted not to only enable the responsible innovation of AI, but also to protect the rights of the stakeholders. It is suggested to develop a multi-stakeholder, proactive strategy, which implies cooperation of governmental institutions, universities, and the business world. The article concludes that, without a carefully designed legal framework, Nigeria will not only run the risk of not fully harnessing the transformative ability of AI but also intensify the level of inequalities that already exist in its educational framework. Therefore, it is necessary to reform the laws and innovate policies to make AI a tool of inclusive, ethical, and sustainable development.