Caleb Onwe The National Data Protection Bureau ( NDPB) has said that it was working to double awareness campaigns on data protection in the country.
This disclosure was made over the weekend in Abuja by the National Commissioner of NDPB, Dr Vincent Olatunji when he addressed participants at a one-day capacity-building workshop on Data Protection and Privacy, organised by the Bureau for members of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA).
Olatunji said that data protection and privacy were very important in sectors of the nation’s economy, and it requires the full participation of all stakeholders.
He noted that the Bureau has been engaging with different stakeholders, and that was why the training was organised to enlighten media professionals.
He further disclosed that huge opportunities exist in the data protection sector, noting that Nigerian youths with relevant skills could benefit from the data protection sector.
He said, “To be part of people gaining jobs, we need to re-skill, learn digital skills because technology is changing, a new world is emerging with the Internet of Things, Big Data, 3D Printing and more.
“In Nigeria, we have about 500,000 data controllers and processors, and according to law, each of these data controllers is meant to have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) that ensures data protection compliance by the controller.
“In Nigeria presently, we are barely 10,000 certified DPOs and that number does not commensurate with the number of data controllers in the country,’’ he said.