Lagos State has called on human resources professionals to take a more active role in preparing Nigeria’s workforce for an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid technological advancement.
The Punch reported that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made the call at the Special Human Resource Forum 2026 in Lagos, where he urged HR executives to move beyond traditional personnel management and focus on identifying the skills workers will need in the evolving labour market.
“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,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor said stronger collaboration between HR professionals and government was essential to Lagos’ ambition of becoming a leading regional centre for technology, innovation and human capital development.
The call comes as businesses across sectors such as banking, telecommunications and logistics increasingly adopt automation and other digital technologies, raising concerns about skills gaps, job displacement and the ability of workers to adapt.
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 the impact of technological advancement would depend largely on how effectively organisations placed people at the centre of the transition.
“History will not remember us for how quickly we adopted artificial intelligence,” Gobir said.
“History will remember us for whether artificial intelligence improved the lives of our people, whether it created jobs or displaced livelihoods, and whether it reduced poverty or widened inequality.”
He stressed that the adoption of AI should translate into broader social and economic benefits rather than deepen existing inequalities.
Also speaking, keynote speaker and global AI and workforce specialist, Erica Farmer, highlighted the economic opportunities presented by artificial intelligence across Africa.
Farmer noted projections that AI could contribute as much as $1tn to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035, but cautioned that the continent would only realise those gains if workers were adequately prepared for the changing demands of the labour market.
“Potential doesn’t automatically equal prosperity,” Farmer noted. “We need to take people on that journey, and this is the defining moment for HR.”
The speakers consequently urged HR professionals and business leaders to prioritise continuous learning and targeted skills development as organisations navigate the changing world of work.
