By Edward Oseghe
The Vice-Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO), Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, has called for the immediate establishment of a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computing Cluster to strengthen Nigeria’s research and innovation capacity.
Prof. Ezemonye said the proposed centralised facility would allow universities to connect remotely and access the high-level computational power required to train indigenous AI models, thereby eliminating the heavy capital burden of maintaining individual campus server farms.
The Vice-Chancellor made the proposal in his keynote address at the AI Summit 2026 held on Thursday, February 19, at the university’s Library Conference Hall.
According to him, the initiative should be funded through a dedicated TETFund intervention and supported by private-sector technology partners.
“We must incentivise the private sector. Tech giants extracting data from our digital space must be compelled, through policy, to reinvest in our physical layer,” he said.
Prof. Ezemonye further advocated a “Compute-for-Access” policy framework, insisting that global technology firms seeking access to the Nigerian market should be required to host part of their computing infrastructure within the country under Nigerian jurisdiction.
In his goodwill message on the summit theme, “AI Dynamics and Ethical Considerations in Higher Education: The Global Shift and the African Reality,” Special Guest of Honour and AI strategist, Iroche Sunny, noted that every global technological shift carries local implications.
He observed that AI is now embedded in the academic core of leading institutions across the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia — not as an experiment but as critical infrastructure.
“AI will not replace universities, but universities that ignore AI will be replaced,” Sunny warned, urging institutions to adopt the technology responsibly.
Panel sessions featured expert presentations from Dr. Darlington Onyeagoro, AI strategist and fintech innovator, on Dimensions of AI in Academia; Ogbolu Ifeanyi, AI consultant and data analytics educator, on Pedagogical Inclusion: AI as a Tool or Aid; Dr. Noel Saliu, former NUC Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), on AI in University Governance and Quality Assurance; and Amb. Enaruna Imohe, former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), on Policy Direction and Regulatory Framework of AI in Academia.
The panelists, while expressing appreciation to the university’s Founder and Chancellor, Sir Gabriel Igbinedion, CFR, the Esama of Benin Kingdom, provided deep insights into the evolving AI landscape. They challenged participants to rethink data-driven education within Africa’s unique realities and offered a strategic roadmap for navigating the rapidly changing terrain.
Their presentations underscored the growing importance of AI literacy, describing it as becoming as fundamental as English literacy in defining competence in today’s knowledge economy.
The summit also produced key institutional declarations by Igbinedion University, including a commitment to ethical AI deployment; mandatory disclosure protocols specifying the extent and purpose of AI use; and a strategic shift toward becoming “architects of intelligence” rather than mere consumers.
Other declarations include the development of a regulatory AI handbook distilled from the summit deliberations; phased mandatory AI training for staff and students through an external consultant; and the introduction of a compulsory AI Applications and Ethics course for all 100-level students across disciplines.
