AI: World Bank, IMF warn of jobs crisis in Nigeria, others
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could worsen the jobs crisis in Nigeria and other developing economies unless governments and businesses take urgent…
Nigeria's unemployment and underemployment crisis has long been driven by a labour market unable to absorb the millions of young graduates entering it each year, with population growth far outpacing formal job creation. The IMF and World Bank regularly publish assessments of how global economic shifts could affect developing economies, and both institutions have increasingly flagged artificial intelligence as a disruptive force that could displace entry-level and routine jobs faster than new ones are created, particularly in countries with weak digital infrastructure and limited retraining capacity.
The coverage agrees that both multilateral lenders are sounding the alarm on AI's potential to deepen joblessness in Nigeria and similar economies, with Leadership focusing on the IMF's specific warning about graduate employment prospects and Vanguard framing it as a joint call from both institutions for urgent government and business action. Neither report details the concrete policy measures proposed, funding commitments, or a timeline for intervention, leaving open how Nigerian authorities might respond to the warning.