Nigerian businesses must embrace artificial intelligence to become faster and more competitive without allowing the technology to weaken trust and human connection in the workplace, Deji Osasona, the Chief Executive Officer of WINBOX (The Behavioural Centre) and convener of the Nigeria Workplace Culture Conference and Awards (NWCCA), has said.
Speaking at NWCCA 2.0 in Lagos, Osasona said AI was already transforming work while employee expectations were changing, making workplace culture increasingly important to business performance.
‘Technology transforms how work gets done, but culture determines how people choose to do it,’ he said.
According to him, organisations must adopt AI without losing the humanity, trust and connection that enable employees and businesses to thrive.
‘AI is already here. Our challenge is to embrace its power without losing the humanity, trust and connection that make organisations thrive,’ Osasona said.
His comments set the tone for discussions at the conference, themed The Adaptive and Trusted Workplace: Building Human-Centred, AI-Enabled Workplaces in Today’s Changing World.
In his keynote, Obadare Adewale, founder and CEO of Digital Encode, said AI adoption had moved beyond theory, with businesses increasingly using generative AI and AI agents to perform tasks across functions.
He said the technology would change jobs and workforce structures, making AI literacy and reskilling increasingly important for employees and employers.
‘The future workplace won’t be won by the most automated company. It will be won by the most adaptive and trusted company that requires putting humans at the centre and AI at the service,’ Adewale said.
He urged human resources professionals to understand how AI systems are deployed, identify potential biases and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as businesses integrate the technology into their operations.
Panelists also warned that businesses must manage the human consequences of automation.
Ayuba Gadzama, General manager H.R, BUA foods, said some processes in his organisation had been automated, but workers were being trained to operate the new technology rather than simply displaced.
He said transparency would be critical as businesses adopt AI because fear of job losses could undermine employees’ trust in the technology.
Emmanuel Michael, Director of Human Resources, Eko Hotels and Suites, said AI could handle repetitive and transactional activities, but human expertise remained necessary to assess its output.
‘AI can hallucinate and produce wrong statistics,’ Michael said, stressing the need for employees with sufficient domain knowledge to validate AI-generated work.
Damilare Babalola, representing Kunbi Adeoti, Chief people experience officer, Leadway Assurance, said organisations should also see AI as a tool for augmenting employees and redesigning jobs rather than simply reducing headcount.
He cited an organisation that initially planned to recruit additional engineers but, after conducting a skills-gap analysis, introduced AI tools to support its existing workforce.
Osasona said the broader challenge for Nigerian businesses was to build workplaces that could adapt to technological change while maintaining employee trust and engagement.
‘Culture is a leadership responsibility. It is a business responsibility. And increasingly, it is a national competitiveness imperative,’ he said.
As AI takes over more workplace tasks, Nigerian businesses face a choice between simply automating work and redesigning it around people and technology. Speakers at the conference argued that the latter will determine whether AI becomes a source of sustainable productivity or another source of workplace distrust.