Former Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has made a compelling case for the Federal Government to prioritize and significantly increase funding specifically for Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications within Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
Professor Pantami, who also serves as Co-Chairman of the African Union’s 4th Industrial Revolution Policy Council, made the call on Thursday while delivering a guest lecture at the 26th National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN) in Kaduna.
Addressing medical professionals, Professor Pantami stressed that AI is no longer a futuristic concept but a vital tool that Nigeria must adopt immediately to save lives and improve health outcomes.
The former Minister used strong language to characterize the technology, advising Nigeria not to lag behind other nations currently investing heavily in emerging technologies for health.
Pantami detailed the enormous benefits AI offers to a struggling healthcare system like Nigeria’s like enhancing precision and reducing human error; tailoring therapies based on individual patient data; improving the speed and accuracy of identifying outbreaks and complex illnesses; and aiding surgeons through robotic and visual guidance systems.
While advocating for adoption, Pantami emphasized the critical importance of looking at the technology “critically” to ensure its implementation respects ethical boundaries and Islamic perspectives, aligning with the conference theme.
The professor also call for dedicated healthcare funding coming quicker as the Federal Government has already signaled its intent to leverage AI, though current initiatives are broader. –
For instance, the Federal Ministry of Health, through its Nigerian Digital Health Architecture (NDHA), is actively developing a unified digital infrastructure to ensure all AI tools safely “plug into a single system.
More so, the current Minister of Communications, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has backed initiatives like AI-powered telemedicine platforms (e.g., MySmartMedic), which aim to bridge the patient-doctor gap in underserved regions.
Noting that Nigeria has released a National AI Strategy outlining a vision for leveraging AI for economic growth and social inclusion, which includes health, education, and agriculture.
Pantami’s address is therefore a specific demand to move from policy pronouncements to dedicated, budgeted funding that ensures the critical health sector is not overlooked as the country prioritizes its overall digital economy agenda.
