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The Deputy Governor, Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Adebisi F. Shonubi has charged the leadership across Africa to take the issue of data sovereignty more seriously by committing to address the huge infrastructural deficits or risk a new form of colonialism.

He gave this challenge at the recent Digital Jewel organized Africa Crises Game Changer Series, with the theme: Compliance in crisis?: A Regulators Perspective; where he made a strong case for smart regulation and compliance as key for engendering trust and confidence, while enhancing the much needed resilience and competitive advantage in today’s unpredictable business environment.

The importance of data sovereignty and it’s broader implications for the national security, economic future and development of African nations was brought to the fore.

Data colonialism is driven by the control of data as a proxy for the control of people and is quickly becoming the reality faced by many emerging economies today. Far from decolonized, these countries are subject to the whims of the unfettered rise of a few others; vulnerable nations’ data is used to enhance the innovations of a few, entrench their economic and political might, and, in effect, occupy the daily lives of billions of people. Data extraction, monopolization, and monetization are data colonialism’s core tenets.

Speaking as a member of the panel which comprised Tinuade Awe (Acting CEO NGX Regulation Limited – Subsidiary of the NSE) and Patrick Nyirishema Director General, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), Adebisi F. Shonubi stated that, “But I think we are underestimating how important this is. It’s simplistic to look at it from the relative economic benefits of hosting data services else were. Most things are expensive in Africa for the simple reason that infrastructure is expensive to put in place, but we can’t shy away from it. If we don’t put it in place, we will be the worse for it in the long run”.

Incidentally, Africa is the continent with the largest number of countries; most cultural, linguistic and racial diversity; least connected nations; and its data protection regulations range from limited to non-existent. Africa has always been a continent rich in natural resources, and, today, the diversity of the continent’s population renders it equally rich in data resources. But the exploitation and control of this diversity by a select few—heralded under the guise of internet-for-all initiatives, actually undermines the data sovereignty of African nations and impedes their ability to develop their own digital economies.

When it comes to obtaining this data, the latest figures from the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development highlight just how vulnerable Africa is in comparison to its European counterparts. In Europe, 96 percent of countries currently have data protection laws in place—versus only 50 percent in Africa. Globally, only 43 percent of the U.N.’s designated Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have such laws; 33 out of the 47 LDCs are in Africa.

As well as the unrivaled, diverse datasets that Africa offers, the continent’s relative absence of data protection policies and a limited understanding of how valuable and influential data can be is a central causal factor behind its vulnerability to data colonialism. There are myriad of reasons for this vacuum in regulation on the continent, including a general lack of capacity, conflicting priorities, and political instability.

Providing further context on measures taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Adebisi F. Shonubi stated that, “In Nigeria NITDA had come out with it’s own rules. Prior to NITDA, the CBN had come up with a set of guidelines for financial institutions on how to manage personal identifying data and what or where data could be held and who had responsibility for ensuring that it was kept in line with the regulations”.

He also harped on the need to localize the rules where there are best practices and not just adopt all rules hook, line and sinker as global best practice without considering the broader context.

The apex banks’ boss submitted that at the end of the day it’s all about the economic empowerment of the country and it’s people.

Digital Jewels Limited is a leading African focused IT Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), Consulting & Capacity Building, firm with deep competencies in Information Security, Information Assurance, Project Management, e-business and Knowledge Capacity Building; with extensive footprints in several African countries.

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