GNC President, and NAIGF Convener warns against deploying AI without foundational understanding, likening unethical and untrained AI use to putting an unlicensed driver behind the wheel.
ABUJA, NIGERIA – OCTOBER 20, 2026 —
Speaking as a panelist at the AI in Health Summit 2026 in Abuja, Dr. Segun H. Olugbile,
the President of the Global Network for Cybersolution (GNC), who is also the Chairman of the Africa Information and Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA), and Convener of the Nigeria AI Governance Forum (NAIGF) issued an urgent call for inclusive AI model assessment, multi-stakeholder co-governance, and cross-sectoral policy integration across Africa’s health landscape.
Participating in the breakout session, “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Public Health Intelligence and Epidemic Preparedness,” co-hosted by Georgetown Global Health Nigeria (GGHN), NCDC, NITDA, and US CDC, Dr. Olugbile emphasized that AI tools cannot be safely or effectively governed if the health sector operates in isolation.
Dr. Olugbile urged healthcare leadership, public health experts, and technology developers to step out of domain-specific silos and actively engage with multi-stakeholder platforms.
"The medical and health sector must not work in isolation," stated Dr. Segun Olugbile. "Addressing the complex risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence requires intentional cross-sectoral collaboration. Health authorities must work side-by-side with tech regulators, policy architects, cybersecurity experts, and civil society through established platforms like the Nigeria AI Governance Forum (NAIGF) to co-design accountability mechanisms, policy frameworks, and regulatory instruments."
To illustrate the dangers of deploying advanced algorithms without adequate foundational knowledge and ethical guardrails, Dr. Olugbile presented a striking analogy to the summit delegates: "Deploying AI systems without foundational knowledge, ethics, and rigorous user training is no different from putting an untrained, unlicensed driver behind the wheel of a high-speed vehicle," Olugbile cautioned. "When a driver lacks licensing, skills, or respect for the rules of the road, disaster is inevitable. Similarly, the untrained and unethical abuse of AI tools in sensitive domains like public health compromises safety, distorts decision-making, and destroys public trust. We must insist on AI model assessments, strict accountability, and comprehensive workforce training before these systems are trusted with critical health intelligence."
Dr. Olugbile challenged both summit organizers and the broader audience to embrace an adaptive governance approach to a multistakeholder AI framework capable of evolving alongside rapid technological breakthroughs and to actively contribute to global AI policy dialogues in the following ways:
- Feeding Health Data Concerns into Policy Instruments: Health-specific priorities—including medical data safety, patient privacy, algorithmic bias, and digital security—must be channeled directly into national policy frameworks and international treaties, translating dialogue into binding instruments of action.
- Active Leadership in Global AI Dialogues: Nigerian and African stakeholders must continuously participate in international forums to ensure continental health realities and digital sovereignty concerns inform global AI standards and norms.
- Inclusive Model Assessment & Co-Governance: AI tools evaluated for public health and epidemic preparedness must undergo continuous, inclusive assessment involving civil society, academics, regulators, and health practitioners.
The broader panel discussion underscored that while AI offers immense promise for speeding up epidemic early warning and automating health data workflows, technology remains an operational support mechanism. Panelists from AfICTA, GNC, GGHN, the US CDC, NITDA, and academia concurred that combining clean baseline health data with inclusive governance, human-in-the-loop oversight, and multi-stakeholder policy alignment is essential to move from static reporting to routine, trusted public health intelligence.
