CITAD urges feminist, climate justice lens in Nigeria’s AI future

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has called for Nigeria’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy to be reimagined through feminist and climate justice perspectives, warning that failure to do so could deepen inequality and environmental harm.

Speaking during a media briefing on Friday in Kano, CITAD Project Lead, Fatima Babakura, said the organisation is implementing a project with support from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) aimed at reshaping Nigeria’s digital future.

The initiative, tagged “Greening and Feminist Centering of the National Digital Transformation Agenda,” seeks to ensure that digital transformation in Nigeria promotes inclusivity, fairness, and sustainability.

Babakura noted that while AI is fast transforming societies, discussions in Nigeria remain limited on how it intersects with gender equality and climate justice.

“Nigeria’s AI future must not only be about technological advancement but also about protecting human dignity, ensuring fairness, and safeguarding the environment,” she said.

CITAD highlighted concerns that algorithmic biases often reinforce stereotypes against women, with facial recognition technologies frequently misidentifying women of colour and language models reproducing harmful gender norms.

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“This exposes the myth that AI is neutral. In reality, AI reflects the biases of its creators,” Babakura added.

On environmental impacts, CITAD warned that training large AI models consumes vast energy and resources, generating greenhouse gas emissions and electronic waste.

While AI is touted as a climate solution, the centre argued that many so-called “green innovations” risk reinforcing unsustainable systems, with smallholder farmers—particularly women—often excluded from AI-driven agricultural solutions due to poor access to internet and infrastructure.

The centre therefore called for the meaningful involvement of women and marginalized communities in AI development, stronger data justice and sovereignty, transparency in AI systems, and policies grounded in Nigeria’s local realities rather than imported models.

“Technology is never neutral. If we ignore gender balance and climate justice, AI will deepen inequality and environmental harm. But if we act now, Nigeria can build an inclusive, fair, and sustainable digital future,” Babakura stressed.

CITAD reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for policies that close the gender digital divide while promoting climate-resilient innovation, urging that Nigeria’s AI future must serve the public good, protect the planet, and amplify the voices of communities most affected by digital and climate injustices.