A little-known story from 1971 has resurfaced, revealing how a young Nigerian student, Mudashiru Ayeni, faced rejection and stigma for an invention far ahead of its time. Ayeni believed he had created a battery-powered robotic office assistant and requested an audience with the then-Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, to demonstrate it. Instead, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
According to a feature published by TRUST magazine at the time:
Ayeni was taken to the hospital eight times before eventually being certified mentally fit.
The 20-year-old later wrote to his school principal, expressing the role he believed young Africans should play in shaping the continent’s technological future. He was banned from classes afterward and forced to leave school.
Seeking guidance, Ayeni reached out to the then Federal Commissioner of Communications, Aminu Kano, who encouraged him and restored his confidence.
His invention reportedly functioned as an early automated office assistant—a device that, with the push of a button, informed callers whether a boss was busy, available, or out of the office.
At the time the story was published, several businessmen had already shown interest in the innovation.
Ayeni’s experience underscores how early technological thinking was often misunderstood in Nigeria’s past—long before today’s global rise of artificial intelligence.