Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, has warned that artificial intelligence is poised to disrupt traditional engineering systems, potentially replacing design work historically done by human engineers. Speaking during his induction as an Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering in Lagos on Friday, Dangote said AI is gradually replacing human capability and the critical thinking once unique to people. He stated, "It is possible that AI will soon phase out engineering designs usually undertaken by human engineers," urging engineers to actively shape how AI is integrated into their profession's education and practice. Dangote emphasized the foundational role of engineering in national development, calling it "a language of progress" and asserting that no nation can industrialise without engineers.
He credited engineering excellence for the success of the Dangote Group, Nigeria's largest manufacturing conglomerate, highlighting that the Dangote Refinery has a capacity exceeding 50 per cent of any other refinery built globally. Dangote revealed that engineers make up over 15 per cent of the workforce across the group's operations, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals and Dangote Fertiliser. To bridge the gap between academic training and industry needs, the company established Dangote Academy and has trained hundreds of young engineers in Europe on advanced technologies. Dangote called for Nigeria to expand its engineering talent pool, citing China's investment in engineering education as a benchmark.
Aliko Dangote warns AI could make human engineers obsolete, yet celebrates the massive hiring of engineers at Dangote Group as a major achievement. The same workforce he presents as central to industrial success is framed as potentially replaceable by the very technological forces he acknowledges. If AI is truly on the verge of phasing out engineering designs, the thousands employed across Dangote's projects may be building not just refineries and fertiliser plants, but their own professional redundancy. This contradiction leaves young Nigerian engineers trained by Dangote Academy with an uncertain future despite their current demand.
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