How We Saved Nigeria From Digital Colonialism - FGNigeria's Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed

The federal government of Nigeria has explained how it has managed to protect the country against digital colonialism through the data protection regulations initiatives.

The Director-General, National Information technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa, gave this explanation in a paper titled ‘The Nigerian Digital Architecture: The Journey So Far.’ at the World Fintech Festival, 2021 in  Singapore.

Inuwa who was represented at the event by the Agency’s Director of e-Government Development and Regulations, Dr Vincent Olatunji, said the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation initiative has also impacted the Ease of Doing Business, cross border data flow, creation of over 3000 jobs, among others.

He also listed the achievements of the initiative to include: international recognition and the creation of a new sector worth ₦5.2 billion.

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On IT project clearance, he said the initiative has saved the country over ₦30 billion and reduction in IT project failure in the country while under the Digital Literacy and Skill programme, over 20,000 Nigerians have been trained and 250,000 enrolled in both NITDA Academy and Digital Nigeria dot gov dot ng platform.

He added that ‘digital economy continues to play an important role in our developmental agenda as we move into the age of artificial intelligence.’

According to Inuwa, the existence of shared vision, partnership, and collaboration amongst the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, its parastatals and the sector’s stakeholders have been identified as one of the reasons for the unprecedented 17.09 percent contribution of the digital economy sector to the Gross Domestic product of the second quarter of 2021.

The NITDA boss concluded that the way forward for Nigeria in attaining vintage position in the global digital economy remains in the country’s resolve to public-private partnership initiatives, funding, human capital, advocacy, and continuity.

 

AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK

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