Long before Artificial Intelligence became a global phenomenon, a 20-year-old Yoruba student, Mudashiru Ayeni, had already demonstrated extraordinary inventive ability by building a battery-powered robotic office assistant. His machine was designed to inform callers, at the press of a button, whether the boss was available, busy, or away. It was a remarkable innovation for its time, especially coming from a young Nigerian student with limited resources.
However, instead of being celebrated as a visionary, Ayeni was treated with suspicion and disbelief. According to a 1971 feature published by TRUST magazine, his bold request to demonstrate his invention before Nigeria’s then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, was met not with encouragement but with institutional hostility. Rather than being offered support, he was referred to a psychiatric hospital for mental evaluation, as though creativity and intellectual brilliance were signs of instability rather than progress.
Ayeni reportedly had to visit the psychiatric hospital eight times before a doctor eventually certified him to be mentally sound. His ordeal did not end there. After writing to his school principal expressing his views on the responsibility of young Africans in advancing the continent’s technological future, he was banned from attending classes and ultimately forced to abandon his education. What should have been the nurturing of a rare talent became the systematic suppression of potential.
Fortunately, not everyone dismissed him. Nigeria’s Federal Commissioner of Communications at the time, Aminu Kano, recognised the value of his work, encouraged him, and helped restore his confidence. By the time the story gained attention, several businessmen had already shown interest in his invention, confirming that his ideas were not only valid but commercially promising.
Ayeni’s experience reflects a deeper societal challenge. A society in which the majority struggles with intellectual openness and rational thinking will inevitably ostracise those with exceptional intellectual capacity and sound minds. Visionaries are often misunderstood, ridiculed, or dismissed because their ideas challenge the comfort of conventional thinking. Innovation requires imagination, and imagination can appear threatening to societies that are unprepared for change.
If the late had been an unknown individual when he first shared his vision of free education, accessible healthcare, and the construction of the tallest building in West Africa at the time, many would likely have mocked him, dismissed him, or even questioned his mental state. Yet history has vindicated his vision, proving that transformative ideas are often initially rejected by those who lack the foresight to understand them.
It is also deeply troubling when a society prioritises blind belief over critical thinking. A society that encourages people to engage in prolonged religious rituals from Monday to Sunday, including extended fasting without reflection or balance, should not expect to foster scientific advancement or intellectual courage. More disturbing is the contradiction where followers are exposed to danger, including kidnappings even during worship, yet continue to place unquestioning trust in spiritual leaders who themselves travel in armoured vehicles with heavily armed security.
These same leaders often preach divine protection and faith healing to their followers, urging them to rely solely on prayer, while they personally seek treatment in modern hospitals and travel overseas for medical care, even for minor health concerns. This contradiction exposes a dangerous culture of manipulation, where belief is used to suppress independent thought rather than empower individuals.
Mudashiru Ayeni’s story is not just about one young inventor. It is a powerful reminder of how societies that fail to recognise and nurture intellectual courage risk destroying their own future. While other nations identify, protect, and invest in their brightest minds, societies that ridicule innovation and worship ignorance will continue to lag behind.
History has shown that progress is driven not by conformity, but by those brave enough to think differently. The tragedy is not that geniuses exist, but that too often, they are dismissed, silenced, or abandoned by the very societies that desperately need their brilliance.
By Bola Babarinde
