Lagos State is urging human resources executives to play a leading role in restructuring Nigeria’s workforce for an artificial intelligence-driven economy as rapid technological adoption transforms the skills required across Africa’s largest metropolitan market.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made the call while addressing business leaders at the Special Human Resource Forum 2026 in Lagos, where he warned that traditional personnel management approaches are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of emerging labour markets.
Sanwo-Olu urged HR professionals to take a more active role in identifying the skills workers will need as technology reshapes industries and workplaces.
“HR personnel cannot take the back seat. You really need to know what skills your staff require and where the future of work is going,” he said.
The governor said corporate talent managers must work more closely with government strategies aimed at positioning Lagos as a regional hub for technology and human capital.
The call comes amid growing concerns across emerging economies about how to capture the productivity gains associated with artificial intelligence without worsening unemployment, inequality and skills mismatches.
In Nigeria, where a predominantly young population is experiencing rapid technological change, automation is increasingly transforming sectors including banking, telecommunications and logistics.
The ability of businesses and workers to adapt to these changes is therefore becoming an important factor in determining the country’s broader economic resilience.
Speaking at the forum organised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, the President of the Institute’s Governing Council, Ahmed Gobir, said human-centred governance would be critical to determining whether technological advances produce inclusive economic growth or deepen existing inequalities.
“History will not remember us for how quickly we adopted artificial intelligence,” Gobir said.
He argued that the more important question would be whether AI improves people’s lives, creates jobs or displaces livelihoods, and helps reduce poverty rather than widening inequality.
The discussions come as projections point to both significant economic opportunities and structural risks from rapid digital adoption across Africa.
Keynote speaker Erica Farmer, a global AI and workforce specialist, said artificial intelligence could add as much as $1 trillion to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035.
However, she warned that the economic potential of AI would not automatically translate into widespread prosperity without targeted investment in skills development.
“Potential doesn’t automatically equal prosperity,” Farmer said, stressing the need to take workers through the transition and positioning human resources professionals at the centre of the process.
The forum highlights the growing responsibility of HR executives in preparing organisations for an AI-driven future, with workforce planning, reskilling and human-centred policies expected to become increasingly important as automation expands.
