A technology firm, Afritex and the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) have committed to an alliance for the formation of a holistic national policy for the building of smart cities in Nigeria, and entrench data privacy for all Nigerians.
Both the national commissioner/CEO of NDPB, Dr Vincent Olatunji and founder/CEO of Afritex, Oyesola Oworu made the commitment on Thursday when Olatunji received in audience, team from Afritex led by Oworu on a courtesy visit in his Abuja office. The visit was to seek the partnership and collaboration of the data bureau towards the coming fourth edition of the Sustainable Smart Cities Forum.
There is currently a zero approach in terms of policy development for smart cities development in Nigeria.
Speaking during the discussions, CEO of Afritex said the focus is on how technology affects the different aspects of life. How technology integration enhances living in the communities and the efficiency of energy in Nigerian homes. “The privacy of data is key,” he stated.
Oworu believes that data should be used for and not against people. The aim of the partnership with the commission is to enlighten Nigerians on the need for data protection for the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria. “The knowledge gap needs to be closed,” he said. “The focus is on how to have a holistic policy for smart city and fintech development in Nigeria, bringing all the stakeholders together to agree on data management, legitimate use of data and data protection.”
He said the collaboration with the commission also includes plan to ensure that all the vehicles to be used for creating visibility for the commission are rightly deployed.
In response, the NDPB commissioner said “Anything about data protection you have my consent. We are open to collaboration and partnership of this kind.” He pledged the support of his agency to enhance the process of formulating a policy for coordination of data privacy and the birth of a national policy for smart cities in Nigeria.
Dr. Olatunji stressed the need to design and build the right technology to prevent data theft in Nigeria. “It is a programme to participate in. You can count on our support,” he added.
Sustainable Smart City Forum, Africa’s largest biannual in smart cities and digital economy is billed to hold the fourth edition of its summit tagged: Unlocking Nigeria’s Clean Technology Potentials for a Safer, Smarter, Sustainable Future”. The summit comes up in September this year.
The agenda of the 2-day event will feature several topics including, ‘the importance of “Privacy by design” Principle in Smart Cities, data governance for smart cities, harnessing possibilities of renewable energy sources in Nigerian cities and financing options for renewable energy development in Nigeria.
Sustainable Smart Cities Forum is aimed at both the public and private sector, businesses, cities, digital innovators, developers, entrepreneurs, startups, research centers, universities, civil techs, civil society representatives, non-governmental organizations with visions and solutions for the management and development of our cities.
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