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The Nigerian government Thursday in Abuja says data privacy is the fundamental rights of citizens even as it stresses its commitment to security of digital platforms underscored by trust in online transactions and efforts of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), the country’s privacy ombudsman.
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“Data privacy is not just a matter of convenience. It is a fundamental human right and we should care about the data we generate and what it is being used for,” says Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, at a two-day sensitisation workshop on data privacy and protection organised by the NDPC on the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
Adding: “Our daily lives have become interwoven with the digital landscape and with generating and collecting and also sharing data. This data is empowering various sectors such as healthcare, finance, education among so many others.
“The amount of data that we are generating individually daily is enormous but with great power comes great responsibility. We cannot underestimate our individual and collective responsibility to safeguard the privacy and security of this data.
“A lot of people do not understand why it is important to protect their data. Data is important in shaping what people think, how people think, without being aware.”
Role of the NDPC
He says the Act has mandated the NDPC to provide direction to safeguard Nigeria’s data protection journey.
His words: “The role of the NDPC in ensuring that we have a structure around the regulation of data protection is extremely important in our journey as a nation.
“As we embrace the digital age, we must ensure that the protection of personal and sensitive information of our citizens is maintained under the highest standard of confidentiality.”
Nigeria improving Data Privacy Adequacy
Nigeria was already initiating steps to improve its national Data Privacy Adequacy (DPA) globally, says Tijani in the workshop with stakeholders that included heads of government agencies, and members of the Association of Licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations of Nigeria (ALDAPCON) among others.
His words:
“We are taking proactive steps to strengthen our data protection framework as evident in the setting up of NDPC.
“We are working with stakeholders including the national assembly to enact robust data protection laws that are aligned with international standards.
“We will also normalise the culture of transparency among our citizens so that everyone is fully aware of how his data is used.”
According to the National Commissioner/CEO of NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, the workshop is part of efforts to create awareness on the NDPA and build capacity in data protection officers (DPOs) as required by the statute.
Nigeria currently needs no less than 500,000 certified DPOs to ensure compliance across a broad spectrum of organisations in the private sectors and public notably the government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
