Toye Fisher & Chinedu Okafor
Top scholars and industry leaders from across Africa and beyond have gathered at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) for the 2025 International Conference of the Faculty of Management Sciences, themed “Artificial Intelligence: Disruptions in Management and Emerging Issues in Africa.”
The three-day conference, running from October 28 to 30, 2025, explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies are reshaping management systems, governance, and economic policy across the continent.
Declaring the conference open, the Vice Chancellor of FUOYE, Professor Sunday Abayomi Fasina, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Tajudeen Opoola, underscored the university’s commitment to fostering innovation, technological adaptation, and inclusive development through research.
“Artificial Intelligence is not just a global trend — it is a critical tool for redefining Africa’s development trajectory,” Professor Fasina said. “At FUOYE, we believe research and collaboration are essential in harnessing technology to drive innovation, improve productivity, and strengthen decision-making across both public and private sectors.”
He reiterated that FUOYE continues to play a leading role in shaping national and continental dialogue on technology-driven management education.
Held at the university’s main campus in Oye-Ekiti, the conference featured a compelling keynote presentation by Professor Owolabi Mukaila Bakre of the University of Riyaadh, Saudi Arabia, titled “Globalization and Western Accounting Regulatory Framework as Smokescreen for Trans-Organized Financial Crime: Nigeria as a Case Study.”
Professor Bakre’s paper challenged global economic orthodoxies, calling for a new era of reform-oriented collaboration between developed and developing economies. He argued that the current international accounting and regulatory frameworks, largely shaped by powerful Western economies, have often served as instruments for capital outflow, financial manipulation, and transnational financial crimes that disadvantage poorer nations.
“Developing economies should embark on reform relevant to the need of their socio-political and economic environment,” Professor Bakre urged. He highlighted the need for stronger institutions of governance, effective and enforceable regulatory frameworks, and tougher sanctions against financial misconduct.
He further noted that if powerful states are genuinely committed to combating money laundering and other trans-organized financial crimes, they must use their vast resources to enact and enforce international laws that promote transparency and accountability — not just issue rhetorical commitments.
The presentation also examined the controversial nature of globalization and its exploitative economic patterns. According to Professor Bakre, globalization and Western accounting systems such as IFRS and IPSAS, though marketed as instruments of reform, have in some cases perpetuated inequality and even contributed to past global financial crises.
He added that Artificial Intelligence (AI), while promising enormous potential for transparency and data-driven governance, could also be misused by global auditing firms to obscure fraudulent practices. He therefore called for ethical regulation and responsible deployment of AI tools to ensure they enhance, rather than erode, global financial accountability.
The paper concluded by calling for unprecedented international cooperation to address financial crimes and corruption at both national and transnational levels — urging global powers to show genuine commitment to reform through enforceable policies and fairer trade and financial systems.
Other notable speakers at the conference included Professor Taiwo Asaolu, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilesa, Osun State, and Professor Sunday Adebisi of the University of Lagos, who shared insights on entrepreneurship, innovation, and the evolving dynamics of management science in Africa.
Speaking earlier, the Conference Planning Committee Chairman, Dr. Babatunde Bayode Olusanya, described the event as a strategic platform for fostering collaboration, stimulating research, and developing context-driven solutions that align with Africa’s development agenda.
Across its three days, the conference features technical sessions, workshops, and paper presentations exploring how Artificial Intelligence can drive efficiency, improve decision-making, and enhance governance systems across public and private sectors.
By hosting this conference, FUOYE reaffirms its status as one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing centres of academic excellence, a university positioning itself at the forefront of Africa’s dialogue on technology, management, and sustainable development.