‎By Erebi Aboso

The Nsibidi Institute has highlighted the significance of Nigeria’s heritage, identity, cultures and media ethics in the age of artificial intelligence, AI.
The Institute weekend brought together cultural enthusiasts, journalists, and historians in Lagos for a thought-provoking event.
‎‎The event, which blended art, documentary, and dialogue, offered participants a platform to reflect on Nigeria’s cultural roots while addressing modern challenges of misinformation. Through speeches, film screenings, and interactive sessions, it aimed to promote understanding, self-awareness, and truth in a fast-evolving digital world.
‎‎Delivering a keynote address on behalf of the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Ojinnaka Obi Asika, Alfie Nze emphasized that heritage should not merely be viewed as memory or nostalgia but as “infrastructure and strategy for the future.” He described Africa as “the world’s first techno-culture,”
‎‎In an interview with Vanguard, Uze Ed Emeka Keazor, Director of the Nsibidi Institute, explained that the event was designed to inspire deeper knowledge of identity and culture. “What we want is that by the time people leave, they have more knowledge and understanding of who they are and their journey as a people,” he said.
‎‎Keazor noted that the press remains “the most influential model of social and popular culture,” emphasizing the need for storytelling to evolve with the times. Highlighting the Gen Z generation’s shorter attention span, he advocated for audiovisual storytelling as the way forward, saying, “It allows information to be transmitted, read, analyzed, disagreed with, countered, and accepted.” He, however, stressed that “self-regulation is crucial,” calling on journalists to uphold truth and accuracy in an era of digital communication.
‎‎A major highlight of the event was the screening of Keazor’s debut documentary, Lagos: The Birth of a City of Style. The film captured Lagos’s enduring elegance, humor, and resilience, portraying it as a city of dreams and vibrant contrasts where passion, pain, and creativity coexist in harmony. Through the lens of style, it reflected the city’s 600-year-old history as a hub of confidence and culture.
‎‎The dialogue extended into pressing issues facing modern journalism, with participants warning about the growing threat of fake news, photoshopping, and deepfakes enabled by generative AI.
One journalist described this as a “global problem without a clear solution,” noting that technologies capable of cloning voices and faces make it increasingly difficult to separate truth from falsehood.
‎‎Another journalist reflected on the earlier era of journalism, marked by rigorous fact-checking and accountability, contrasting it with today’s “free flow of information” where misinformation spreads unchecked. They emphasized that without effective regulation or institutional accountability, audiences are forced to personally judge what is true, “a very dangerous place to be,” the journalist remarked.
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‎Speakers collectively called for stronger media literacy, institutional oversight, and regulation from bodies like the Nigerian Press Council and the National Broadcasting Commission to ensure responsible communication and safeguard the integrity of journalism.
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‎Reflecting on the impact of the gathering, Keazor reaffirmed the Nsibidi Institute’s mission to blend heritage and innovation. “If people leave here having learned something they didn’t know before, then we have achieved our purpose, enlightenment about their life, continent, and identity,” he said.
‎‎Through its programs, the Nsibidi Institute continues to champion the preservation of African heritage while engaging with the realities of a rapidly changing media landscape.