In a remarkable feat, Saheed Azeez, a final-year Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Lagos, has developed YarnGPT, a text-to-speech AI model that can read text aloud in a Nigerian accent.

This innovation has far-reaching implications for various industries, including content creation, navigation, and accessibility.

Azeez’s journey to creating YarnGPT was not without its challenges. With limited resources, he had to rely on open-source platforms and cloud computing services to train his model.

Despite facing setbacks, including a costly failed attempt, Azeez persevered and eventually developed a functional model.

YarnGPT’s capabilities extend beyond English, as it can also read Nigerian languages such as Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.

This breakthrough has the potential to enhance accessibility for non-English speakers and promote the use of local languages in technology.

Azeez’s achievement is a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of Nigerian innovators. However, he acknowledges that Nigeria still lags behind in the AI race, with limited access to massive datasets and computational resources.

Nevertheless, Azeez remains optimistic, believing that localizing AI for Nigerian needs can help bridge the gap.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has continued to advocate for the country’s position in AI development, and talents like Azeez offer a glimmer of hope for a brighter future in Nigerian tech innovation.