The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), on Monday, tasked the Somalian Data Protection Authority (SDPA) to strengthen its data protection ecosystem towards inclusive African data protection and privacy.

NDPC national commissioner Vincent Olatunji said this when some data protection experts from the SDPA visited NDPC to understudy the Nigerian data protection ecosystem in Abuja.

Part of the aims was to study the organisational structure of NDPC, exchange valuable insights, and explore ways of data protection that would be beneficial to both countries, among other objectives.

He said for Africa to be part of the global digital economy, the continent needed to strengthen its digital identity and ensure its protection.

According to him, out of 195 countries across the globe, 130 have established data protection authorities, while in Africa, 23 countries have their own data protection authorities.

Mr Olatunji told the experts that data protection implementation and enforcement were huge tasks that required passion and constant knowledge updates to be conversant with events across the globe.

Mr Olatunji added that they would need to invest in educating their citizens about data protection and engage with stakeholders across all spectrums to harness its benefits.

Mr Olatunji stated that within a few years of Nigeria establishing the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), the country enacted the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), which empowered the commission to implement and enforce the law.

He stated that the NDPA had 12 parts and 66 sections, which the commission was deploying every strategy to implement and enforce, adding that the country was also learning from countries across the world with better experiences.

The national commissioner encouraged them to seek organisational support and cooperation from multinational corporations, adding that funding data protection programmes was a huge challenge.

Jamal Mohamed, Somalia’s ambassador to Nigeria, said Somalia was grappling with their development following its 30-year civil war.

Mr Mohamed urged the experts that the solution they needed lay with Nigeria, hence the need for them to ensure that lessons were learnt.

(NAN)