By Amayindi Yakubu
The subject matter of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of Nigeria’s 21st Century most discussed issues, not only in the media, particularly in the newsrooms, but also in the global forums. In Nigeria, there is an ongoing clamour by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to develop legal frameworks that would regulate the expectations of Artificial Intelligence as it relates to the press. It is on the strength of this that The Pointer, this week took the initiative to meet with media stakeholders and experts, to x-ray the extent to which AI has made inroads into the Nigerian media industry, the possible benefits recorded, and challenges. Find bellow their views in this week’s platform.
What is Artificial Intelligence. In your view, how is it enhancing or undoing journalism practice in Nigeria?
Delta State Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Churchill Oyowe has this to say:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think, learn, and perform tasks typically requiring human cognition, like problem-solving, language understanding, and data analysis. In journalism, AI manifests in various ways: automated content generation, data mining, audience analytics, transcription, and translation tools.
In Nigeria, AI has started making visible inroads, albeit gradually. Tools like speech-to-text software, social media trend analysis, and AI-assisted editing apps are helping journalists work faster and more efficiently. For instance, reporters can transcribe interviews in real time, analyse public sentiment from social media, or even use bots to monitor government data releases.
However, the penetration is uneven, as urban-based journalists are more likely to use these tools than their counterparts in rural areas due to infrastructure and internet access limitations. Overall, AI is enhancing journalism here, but we must be cautious about not just its ethical and professional implications but ensuring we don’t consume its content hook, line, and sinker. Some contents require our unique input by way of correcting its limitations.
Do you think AI could result in job loss in the journalism profession now, or in the future?
Yes, to some extent. AI does pose a potential threat to certain roles in journalism, especially repetitive or routine tasks like rewriting press releases, basic sports updates, or financial reports. These are areas where AI can automate content quickly and cheaply.
However, AI cannot replace the core of journalism: investigative reporting, ethical judgment, contextual storytelling, and human empathy.
Rather than see AI purely as a threat, Nigerian journalists should view it as a tool. We must upskill and retool ourselves to work alongside AI, focusing on areas that require critical thinking, verification, and storytelling that resonates with our local realities. The real threat is not AI itself, but the unwillingness of media practitioners to adapt and evolve with technology.
The view in some quarters is that whatever information the AI gives or generates is dependent on human input. As such, it could be subject to manipulation or interference. What’s your take on this?
That view is valid. AI is not an independent thinker; it relies heavily on the data it is trained on and the instructions it is given by humans or the information available in the computers it can access. This means that if the data is biased, incomplete, or manipulated, the AI’s output will reflect those flaws.
In journalism, this is a major concern. AI-generated content can be misused to spread misinformation, disinformation or push narratives, especially in politically sensitive contexts like elections, ethnicity, religious or security issues. Therefore, journalists must not blindly trust AI outputs.
Every AI-assisted piece of information must be scrutinized, verified or fact checked and contextualized by human editors. In other words, AI is a helpful assistant, not an authority.
In your view, how effective has the AI been to the Nigerian journalist in getting local or grassroots information for the media?
AI has had limited effectiveness in this regard. While AI excels in analysing large datasets and scraping information from digital platforms, it struggles with sourcing grassroots stories, especially in communities where digital footprints are minimal or non-existent. Many local issues in Nigeria are not documented online, and even where they are, they might be in local dialects or presented through informal channels that AI tools cannot effectively pursue.
The strength of Nigerian journalism still lies in fieldwork; on the ground, direct community engagement, and human sources. AI can assist by mapping trends, suggesting leads, or providing context, but it cannot replace the local reporter who understands the nuances of the terrain. For now, AI is more effective as a back-end support system rather than a frontline information gathering tool in rural or grassroots settings.
Your take on the inroads and impact of Artificial Intelligence in the Nigerian media industry?
The Executive Director, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, one of Africa’s leading media and journalism think tank, Mr Akintunde Babatunde reacts: Amid the myriad of challenges that journalism faces from forces of repression, the new technology called Artificial Intelligence from innovators has crept into Nigeria’s newsrooms and newsrooms. One would have probably thought that only well-endowed media conglomerates in developed nations would have access to such technology, but here in Nigeria, AI is slowly and gradually making its way into traditional and fast-developing media outlets.
Should Nigerian newsrooms rethink their approach towards the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence in their reportorial works and operations, or should they frown at it?
Another, Mr Alfred Ajayi, a multiple award-winning Climate and Solutions Journalist, working with the Federal Radio Corporation, shares his thoughts on this, pining it to press freedom in the age of AI in Nigeria.
“This is the freedom that I think should be granted to journalists and media organisations to gather, produce, and disseminate information without undue censorship, surveillance, or manipulation with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence. It is expected to be the the rights of traditional journalists in the newstoom that should be protected while actively engaging with the technological, ethical, and regulatory challenges introduced by AI.
It requires a new vigilance, not just against human oppressors but against opaque systems and digital power structures.
With the advent of AI, I foresee more interesting days for the Journalist in Nigeria in the next five years.
“Recently, one of the leading Television stations in Nigeria, TVC, launched what is known as Nigeria’s first AI multilingual news anchors. I can only see more breakthroughs shortly. The only thing that will determine whether some of us will retain our jobs is urgent alignment with the realities of AI in our media industry.”
Do you envisage the possibility of Artificial Intelligence posing a threat to the Journalist’s freedom to practice his trade in the near future in Nigeria?
A Senior Content Associate at BellaNaija, Ahmad Adedimeji Amobi, shares his view: “With the advent of AI in the Nigeria’s media industry, I think the freedom of the Journalist to practice his trade may have to be redefined as hebreaks the news and fact-checks, while adhering to the main ethics of the journalism profession.
“AI is gradually influencing journalism in Nigeria, but I don’t think it has taken away the freedom of the press.
Although the news scoops, which used to be conveyed by journalists can now be hopped upon by anyone due to the abysmal dissemination of “power”, the basic rules and ethics remain for journalists to uphold.”
In order to address the new skills and mindsets, I and my colleagues have had to work effectively with AI. The first mindset we had to adopt was acceptance. AI is here to stay. As humans, whether journalists or not, it has now become our responsibility to find means to adopt and adapt. We had to embrace the AI tools and use them to our benefit.”
However, let me caution young journalists in the newsrooms that are increasingly becoming AI-driven. “However inevitable, AI remains unreliable. For features journalists who wish to creatively document experiences, AI can’t do the job for you. It can’t speak to humans and experience, and understand their emotions. Young journalists, like myself, also need to be careful of being over-reliant on AI. The tools are there to aid your work, not to do your work for you.”
Going down to some specifics, what would you say are the challenge or challenges of AI to the practicing Journalist in the news room?
Hear the view of Mr.Johnstone Kpilaakaa, Sub-Editor and Head of Standards at Hum Angle.
With AI, we face an added layer of complexity in the Newsroom in Nigeria. While it offers powerful tools that can enhance our reporting, it also opens the door to misinformation and manipulation on an unprecedented scale.
“These days, we’ve had to become more deeply conscious of the foundational ethics of journalism. AI, especially generative AI, should never replace human judgment or core journalistic skills. Rather, it should serve as a companion, a helpmate, to support meaningful story writing and generation.
“We should be learning not just to use AI-generated contents but to interrogate them. It’s no longer enough to catch grammatical mistakes or inconsistencies; we must now verify sources, scrutinise metadata, and question the “plausible, but false” information that AI can so convincingly produce.
“We also need to cultivate a mindset of adaptability. AI will continue to evolve, and so must our ethics, workflows, and sense of journalistic purpose.
“ The young Journalist should, therefore, first, master the fundamentals of fact-checking and ethical story writing. These are non-negotiable.
He should, thereafter, build on that foundation with AI literacy, understand how AI tools work, the biases they carry, and how they can amplify or distort narratives.
This is especially vital in sensitive regions like Nigeria’s conflict zones, where I operate from. Above all, he should stay curious, but sceptical. He should not be dazzled by AI, but use it as a tool, not a crutch.”
And what do you think could be the fear of the average Nigerian Journalist in the application of AI?
The likely fear among journalists in Nigeria is the future and his role in the next five years. “The journalist will increasingly become a curator, verifier, and interpreter. As AI floods the information space with content, the public will need human judgment to separate truth from noise.
In Nigeria, where public trust in institutions remains fragile, journalists will have to play a critical role in bridging technology and community, and translating raw data into meaningful, context-rich narratives.
We may rely on machines to gather information, but it will still take human eyes and hearts to make it matter.
That is why, at HumAngle, we treat all visual and textual content with a default posture of suspicion. Our verification process includes reverse image searches, cross-referencing with trusted sources, metadata analysis, and, crucially, on-the-ground reporting from our network of correspondents. We also invest in training our team to identify synthetic media, and we deploy AI tools to combat AI threats—tools that detect manipulation in videos or flag unnatural patterns in text.
