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In response to the growing global challenge of cyber threats, Lagos State takes a proactive stance by forming its first-ever Cybersecurity Advisory Board.
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Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling commercial hub with a population exceeding 20 million, has spearheaded the establishment of this forward-thinking and strategic board. Gbenga Omotoso, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, emphasized the significance of this initiative, aligning with the state’s reputation as a technology, innovation, and governance trailblazer.
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With Lagos State actively implementing a Smart City program as part of its THEMES Plus Agenda, safeguarding its data and digital assets has become paramount. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu hailed the formation of the board as a milestone, affirming Lagos’ commitment to investors that “Lagos is not just the technology hub in Africa, but a cyber-secure tech hub”.
The THEMES Plus Agenda, focusing on Transportation and Traffic Management, Health and Environment, and Education and Technology, underscores the state’s ambitious plans for its future development.
The newly constituted Cybersecurity Advisory Board boasts a diverse lineup of experts, including renowned figures like Dr. Osakwe Fene, Amazon bestselling author, Forbes Technology Council member and winner of the 2023 Global Cyber Educator of the Year Award in the United Kingdom; Mr Taiye Lambo, first Chief Information Security Officer for the City of Atlanta; Dr. Bharat Soni, Chief Information Security Officer, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc; Chineye Chizea, security architect, World Bank/Federal Government of Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project; Ben Oguntala, former Cyber Security Project Manager, NFU Mutual Insurance UK; Dr Obadare Adewale, Co-Founder, Digital Encode and Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology Mr. Tunbosun Alake.
Others are representatives from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Ministry of Justice, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and the Police.
As Lagos transitions into a global digital powerhouse, the establishment of the Cybersecurity Advisory Board underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity frameworks to mitigate risks stemming from global connectivity and cloud-based data storage.
Why the Cybersecurity Advisory Board matters
Lagos is both Nigeria tech and financial hub with all major banks and tech companies headquartered in Lagos. Lagos accounts for over 80% of the country’s foreign trade flows, and generates over 50% of Nigeria’s port revenues. The estimated GDP of Lagos as at 2016 was $145.141billion in 2016.
Lagos economy is larger than any other economy in the ECOWAS sub-region,
Lagos is a thriving epicenter of tech entrepreneurship. The startup and innovation ecosystem of Lagos records over 700 startups and accounts for over 70% of Nigeria’s startups. Lagos leads rest of African cities as home to the continent’s top Unicorns including Paystack, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Jumia, Opay, and Andela.
Lagos is Nigeria’s top data centre market and boasts of a connectivity ecosystem made up about 11 colocation data centers,more than 155 cloud service providers and 11 network fabrics. The major actors include Open Access Data Centers, Digital Realty, Cato Digital, Zenlayer and MainOne.
Lagos state is currently pursuing its ambitious Smart city plans which include the launch of its state-wide fibre optics duct infrastructure allowing it to connect every inch of its territorial land area of 351,861 hectares or 1,171.28 km2 (452.23 sq mi). In addition, the state has also started state-wide deployment of CCTV (Closed circuit television) all to ride on the fibre optic backbone in a way that further helps to improve security and track traffics. All of these make cybersecurity strategic to its economic fabric.
