* Seeks deliberate funding in home digital infrastructure, stronger regulatory establishments
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has cautioned that Nigeria mustn’t permit a repeat of the decàdes-long errors it made in managing its oil financial system in the burgeoning digital sector.
He recalled that exporting crude oil and importing refined petroleum merchandise disadvantaged Nigeria of considerable home worth, experience and employment alternatives, stressing that the nation should not permit an identical sample to emerge in the digital ecosystem.
Oyedele, who gave the admonition on the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, whereas delivering the convocation lecture titled ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ famous that Nigeria dangers repeating the pricey errors of its oil financial system if it continues to rely closely on international infrastructure for storing and processing its knowledge as a substitute of harnessing the financial worth of its increasing digital sector.
The minister maintained that the dimensions of the chance was already evident, citing figures by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) exhibiting that Nigeria had greater than 157 million lively web subscriptions as at May 2026.
However, he identified an estimate by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission exhibiting that over 90 per cent of the nation’s knowledge is hosted overseas.
According to a press release issued by the Head, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Finance, Efe Ovuakporie, the minister noticed that such dependence comes at a substantial financial price, together with international alternate outflows for offshore knowledge internet hosting and processing, misplaced alternatives for native companies and professionals, and publicity of Nigerian knowledge to international legal guidelines and jurisdictions.
The minister defined that digital sovereignty entails a rustic’s means to find out, beneath its personal legal guidelines, how its knowledge is collected, saved, accessed and utilised, clarifying that this didn’t imply shutting Nigeria out of the worldwide digital financial system, however guaranteeing that its participation advances nationwide pursuits.
To reverse the pattern, he referred to as for deliberate funding in home digital infrastructure, stronger regulatory establishments and the event of native experience and companies able to changing knowledge into useful services and products inside Nigeria.
On Artificial Intelligence (AI), Oyedele highlighted its rising capability to reshape employment and the talents required in the rising financial system, and charged graduates to embrace AI and different rising applied sciences whereas retaining their impartial judgement, important pondering, creativity, empathy and integrity.
He additionally enjoined younger Nigerians to be deliberate about their conduct in the digital area, noting that their on-line footprints more and more affect their private {and professional} identities.
Their posts, feedback and reactions, he famous, may form how employers, establishments and society understand them.
The minister counselled graduates to disagree respectfully, problem concepts reasonably than assault people, and perceive that on-line consideration doesn’t essentially translate into respect, reputation into credibility or virality into worth creation.
He additionally drew consideration to the capability of AI to amplify misinformation, impersonation and dishonesty, making moral conduct and public belief more and more essential.
Turning to the position of universities, Oyedele charged increased establishments to maneuver past the normal award of certificates and place themselves as centres of innovation, entrepreneurship, moral management and sensible problem-solving.
He argued that their relevance also needs to be measured by the issues their graduates remedy, the companies they set up and the contributions they make to their communities.
Oyedele recognized agriculture, power, healthcare, marine assets, environmental administration and digital companies as sectors providing vital alternatives for innovation and enterprise, calling on universities to equip college students with the sensible information and abilities to develop options in these areas.
He outlined 5 tasks for the graduating college students, together with lifelong studying, worth creation, integrity, accountable digital citizenship and lively participation in nation-building.
The minister defined that Nigeria’s digital future would rely not solely on expertise and infrastructure, but additionally on the values, selections and capabilities of the folks shaping its growth.
He challenged the graduates to see themselves as lively contributors to that future, drawing on the phrases of administration thinker, Peter Drucker: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
