Oyedele: Nigeria Must Own Its Data to Own Its Future

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has urged Nigeria to build its digital future at home, warning that the country cannot achieve economic sovereignty while over 90 per cent of its data is stored abroad.

Oyedele gave the charge on Wednesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while delivering the convocation lecture titled “Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation” at the University of Uyo.

He said Nigeria must not repeat the oil economy pattern — exporting crude and importing refined products, thereby losing value, expertise and jobs — in the digital economy.

Citing Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) figures, he said Nigeria had over 157 million active internet subscriptions as at May 2026. Yet, according to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, over 90 per cent of the country’s data is hosted abroad.

Such dependence, he said, comes at a high cost — foreign exchange outflows for offshore hosting and processing, lost opportunities for local businesses and professionals, and exposure of Nigerian data to foreign laws and jurisdictions.

Oyedele defined digital sovereignty as a country’s ability to determine, under its own laws, how its data is collected, stored, accessed and used. He clarified that it does not mean shutting Nigeria out of the global digital economy, but ensuring its participation advances national interest.

To reverse the trend, he called for deliberate investment in domestic digital infrastructure, stronger regulatory institutions, and development of local expertise and businesses capable of turning data into valuable products and services in Nigeria.

On artificial intelligence, Oyedele said AI is reshaping employment and the skills required in the emerging economy. He urged graduates to embrace AI and emerging technologies while retaining independent judgement, critical thinking, creativity, empathy and integrity.

He also urged young Nigerians to be deliberate about their conduct online, noting that their digital footprints increasingly shape their personal and professional identities. Posts, comments and reactions, he said, influence how employers, institutions and society perceive them.

Graduates, he advised, should disagree respectfully, challenge ideas rather than attack individuals, and understand that online attention does not equal respect, popularity does not equal credibility, and virality does not equal value creation. He warned that AI can amplify misinformation, impersonation and dishonesty, making ethical conduct and public trust more important.

Oyedele charged universities to move beyond awarding certificates and become centres of innovation, entrepreneurship, ethical leadership and practical problem-solving. Their relevance, he said, should be measured by the problems their graduates solve, the businesses they build and their contributions to their communities.

He identified agriculture, energy, healthcare, marine resources, environmental management and digital services as sectors with significant opportunities for innovation and enterprise, and called on universities to equip students with practical skills to develop solutions in those areas.

He outlined five responsibilities for graduating students: lifelong learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in nation-building.

Nigeria’s digital future, he stressed, will depend not only on technology and infrastructure but on the values, choices and capabilities of the people shaping it.

He challenged graduates to see themselves as active contributors to that future, quoting management thinker Peter Drucker: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”