BY EMMANUEL OLUKOTUN
The Nigeria Technological Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and QnA Dubai, have unveiled plans to secure Nigeria’s digital future as they brainstorm at the National Cybersecurity Conference (NCSC) 2025, themed “Securing Nigeria’s Digital Future Innovation, Collaboration and Resilience,” held on Thursday, at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
The two-day program, co-sponsored by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Huawei and others, had in attendance, both local and foreign experts in the Cybersecurity world, deliberating on how far Nigeria has fared in its cybersecurity journey, particularly with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), said he is already part of NITDA and appreciates what the agency is doing. He said ” Let me congratulate the able leadership of NITDA, for putting this together, I am already part of NITDA, you are doing a good job.”
Explaining the title, “Data Privacy and Protection”, Olatunji said, it is all about the rules guiding the operations of cybersecurity, noting that compliance to rules is very key in curbing cyberattacks.
“If compliance is not taken seriously, you cannot go anywhere, it is very difficult to separate data protection from cybersecurity, they are completely interwoven. Just that one is into the kind of measures you put in place to protect your data base, while the other one looks at how you protect your privacy,” he said.
Olatunji said though Nigeria is in the Tier 3 category, it has moved up from where it used to be in global rating, while harping on the need for increased training on the operations and skills of cybersecurity.
The National Commissioner emphasized that it is to the credit of the government that Nigeria is doing better than other African countries in cybersecurity, as it is investing a lot in the sector.
He said “Government is seriously investing in ICT infrastructure. Nigeria has scored higher than other countries in Africa, looking at legal measures, technical measures and all. Nigeria is now a model to other countries.”
He however identified public awareness and capacity building as areas where the government has to improve upon.
At the Panel -Discussion session, tagged, “AI & Cybersecurity; A Double-Edged Sword,” and moderated by Dr. Lawal Mohammed, a Director at NITDA, experts in cybersecurity explained some importance and disadvantages in the use of AI.
Chief Executive Officer, ARRAVO TECHNOLOGIES, Dr. Ayodele Adegboye, said that AI has helped a lot in the area of faster tracking of cyberattacks. According to him, before the advent of AI, manual effort was largely limited in terms of the number of attacks it could track down, but with AI, millions of attempts could be tracked within a very short period.
Adegboye further said one other advantage of AI is its ability to detect and prevent cyberattacks, rather than react to it.
Another Panelist, Dr. Tunde Adeyemo, President, EARNST & YOUNG, allayed fears that AI has come to totally take over the jobs of humans, saying that is not the case. He stated that there will still be jobs for humans, pointing to the fact that, humans will still be engaged to monitor AI.
- Emmanuel Manasseh, representing ITU, revealed that, since 2010, his organization has been assisting countries in building their local cybersecurity systems, which are used to protect their cyber space.
In his presentation, Director at CISCO – a private cyber security firm, Mr. Sultan Sanusi, said his company is developing Guard Rules, to prevent AI from giving the public information that could cause harm, such as explaining how to manufacture a bomb, or blow up buildings to children and other criminally minded individuals.
Dr. Lawal Mohammed, in his remarks explained that maintaining cybersecurity is a collective effort, needing the involvement of not only experts, but all who are concerned about the society’s safety. He noted that the world has become data centered, and it is the duty of everyone to keep the cyber space safe.