Sowore: Nigeria Must Not Miss the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Human rights activists and AAC presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has renewed his call for Nigeria to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, warning that the country cannot afford to miss another opportunity for technological and economic transformation.

Sowore made the appeal while sharing a video showing what appears to be an innovative personal aircraft or flying vehicle being demonstrated, using it to illustrate the rapid pace of technological advancement taking place around the world.

In a statement accompanying the video, Sowore said the world has passed through four major industrial revolutions, each fundamentally transforming economies, industries and human society.

According to him, the First Industrial Revolution introduced mechanisation powered by water and steam, the Second Revolution ushered in mass production through electricity, while the Third Revolution brought automation driven by digital technology.

He noted that the world is now witnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, powered by artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, biotechnology, quantum computing and cyber-physical systems.

“Nigeria missed the opportunities presented by the first three industrial revolutions, largely because of decades of poor leadership, poor governance, and a failure to invest in innovation, education and technological development,” Sowore wrote.

“As a result, our nation has remained largely dependent on consuming technologies developed elsewhere instead of creating them.”

The former presidential candidate argued that Nigeria must not repeat what he described as past mistakes, stressing that the current technological revolution presents the country’s best opportunity to leapfrog decades of underdevelopment.

He maintained that embracing science, innovation and technology would require replacing what he described as incompetence, corruption and recycled politics with visionary leadership committed to developing human capital.

“We cannot afford to repeat that mistake. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the greatest technological transformation in human history, and Nigeria must seize this opportunity to leap forward rather than fall further behind,” he said.

According to Sowore, investing in research, innovation, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies will be essential if Nigeria hopes to compete in the global economy and create opportunities for its growing youth population.

He concluded by saying Nigeria’s future depends on embracing technological advancement, ending his message with his campaign slogan, ”#SOWORE2027 IS THE ANSWER.”

The video shared alongside his statement has since attracted reactions on social media, with many users describing it as an example of how rapidly technology is evolving and why countries that fail to invest in innovation risk falling further behind.