Nigeria’s ambition to become Africa’s digital and creative economy powerhouse could be leaving behind one of its most gifted groups of innovators as thousands of autistic young people with talents in gaming, animation, artificial intelligence (AI), music and digital design struggle to find education, training and employment opportunities.
At the 16th GTCO Autism Conference in Lagos, families, autism advocates and specialists warned that while awareness about autism is improving, Nigeria still lacks the systems needed to help autistic people develop their strengths into careers. They argued that unless the country invests in inclusive education, vocational training and employer awareness, it risks wasting a generation of creative talent at a time when the global economy increasingly rewards skills that many autistic individuals naturally possess.
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For Adaoma Nnabeze, the issue is deeply personal.
Her younger brother, Wisdom, is 20 years old. For most of his life, his family believed he had dyslexia because he struggled to read, remember lessons and keep up in school. It was only after years of searching for answers and undergoing developmental assessments at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital that the family discovered he is autistic.
