Pantami appealed on Thursday while delivering a guest lecture at the 26th National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN) held in Kaduna.

The conference focused on “Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Benefits, Ethical Boundaries and Islamic Perspective.”

He said AI has become indispensable in modern healthcare systems across the world, noting that Nigeria must not lag at a time when countries are investing heavily in emerging technologies.

“Artificial intelligence is unavoidable, unstoppable, and inevitable. It becomes necessary for us as Muslims to look into the technology critically and see how it will help our profession,” he said.

Pantami explained that AI offers enormous benefits in disease detection, personalised treatment, accuracy in diagnosis, and surgical precision.

He cited examples of virtual surgeries conducted between Rome and Beijing, and between America and Asia, which he described as evidence of the transformative power of AI in saving lives.

“AI will support our medical practitioners in saving lives, increasing high levels of precision and accuracy in determining and diagnosing diseases. Despite its numerous benefits, we must stress that its adoption has to be ethical and responsible,” he added.

The former minister emphasised the need to invest in modern infrastructure, training, and retraining of medical personnel, as well as developing AI–powered tools that can improve healthcare delivery nationwide.

Pantami warned that failing to invest meaningfully in AI would leave Nigeria far behind global trends.

He referenced Saudi Arabia’s recent announcement of a $40 billion AI fund—an amount larger than Nigeria’s entire national budget—to illustrate the scale of global commitment to technological advancement.

“We need to prioritise investment in AI infrastructure to support our healthcare system,” Pantami said, stressing that meaningful funding is the foundation for any long–term technological transformation in the sector.

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TECH DIGEST-The adoption and use of the Open Standards set of Interfaces (APIs) as a means of developing standardized APIs and tools to give Africans the much-needed access to services in their countries of origin and anywhere else on the continent has been argued for by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

At the current Trustech Conference in Paris, France, the Minister was speaking through his envoy, Abdulaziz Aliyu, Director General of the nation’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

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The Director General and Chairman of the Open Standards Identity API (OSIA) Advisory Board, The Aziz, gave the introductory remarks at the Identity for Government Tract session. He also mentioned that:

“Africans need credible identity documents and means of being verified securely, without their data being harvested by entities without control. It is not a uniquely Nigerian problem, and I have the mandate to extend my thoughts beyond Nigeria, to the African continent at large. Data is gold and entities that cannot be trusted have had unfettered access to personal information without the consent or the knowledge of the identity owner”.

A cross-border identity ecosystem with mutual recognition that is created by Africans using African talent and know-how for the African market is urgently needed, according to Professor Pantami.

He said that OSIA’s acceptance by a number of international organizations, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), will do much to create job opportunities and help local currencies circulate throughout the continent.

“I therefore urge African regional banks, Afrexim and the African Development Bank to support local talent,” added Professor Pantami who has been a strong advocate for secure identities on the African continent, noted a statement by Uwa Suleiman, spokesperson to the minister.

Trustech 2022 Conference is focused on secure payments and identifications.

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TECH DIGEST- The Nigerian Communications Commission will launch historic broadband projects on Thursday, November 24, 2022, in Abuja under the direction of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami (NCC). The measures would hasten the adoption of broadband in Nigeria and boost plans for the development of the country’s digital economy.

Contracts for the installation of broadband infrastructure for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME), as well as for tertiary and higher institutions of learning throughout the six geopolitical zones of the nation, will be awarded at the event.

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SKILLS RATHER THAN JUST DEGREES, a book published by Pantami with a foreword by Brad Smith, President of Microsoft Corporation, is also scheduled to be presented by Pantami. Following a presentation by the Minister, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved the list of projects for the several geopolitical zones that are scheduled to commence. The projects are anticipated to be finished within six months after the award date.

For the implementation of strategic initiatives, the NCC engaged well-known tech companies through an open procurement procedure. The event is anticipated to draw a variety of stakeholders from academia and technology enthusiasts, including potential start-up businesses, fintech organizations, and other interested sectors. These stakeholders’ activities are expected to energize the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020–2030.

According to a press release from the NCC and signed by Reuben Muoka, director of public affairs, the provision of broadband infrastructure for MSMEs in Nigeria and for tertiary institutions throughout the six geopolitical zones of the nation will add the necessary impetus to achieving the main goals outlined in the NDEPS 2020–2030.

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TECH DIGEST – Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy have instructed the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to use emerging technology to boost the country’s education sector. Emerging technology trends are assisting educators in improving the delivery of educational services and assisting practitioners in achieving better communication between teachers and students.

On a recent working visit to his office in Abuja, Pantami received the management of TETFUND, led by the Executive Secretary, Sunday S.T. Echono, who spoke about how schools are increasingly adopting emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality to remodel how today’s classroom works.

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Whether it’s Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, Robotics, Adaptive Learning Algorithms, Asynchronous Learning and Microlearning, Live Streaming from school to school, school to expert, or remote teaching and learning, emerging technologies are redefining education, according to Panatmi.

According to the minister, the use of blockchain technology in Nigeria’s higher institutions will assist maintain data integrity and increase efficiency in the administration of certificates, transcripts, and records, among other things.

According to Echono, the TETFUND team is looking to collaborate with the ministry in the areas of internet for education, broadband penetration, subsidized data for educational content, data hosting, thesis digitization, and hybrid education facilitation.

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