Open Access Data Centres (OADC) Lagos has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s data protection and digital transformation agenda through its sponsorship and active participation in the Nigeria Data Protection Commission’s (NDPC) National Privacy Week Summit.

The National Privacy Week Summit, organised by the NDPC, convened policymakers, regulators, technology providers, and industry stakeholders to promote data privacy awareness, strengthen compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), and advance conversations around data security, sovereignty, and responsible data governance.

As a sponsor of the event, OADC Lagos demonstrated its continued support for the Federal Government’s drive toward local data hosting and data domiciliation, which are increasingly critical to safeguarding sensitive information, enhancing regulatory compliance, and building trust in Nigeria’s digital economy.

Through its carrier-neutral, Tier III Design certified data centre in Lekki, Lagos, OADC provides secure, resilient, and compliant infrastructure that enables government institutions and private sector organisations to host and manage data locally while meeting international best practices.

Commenting on the engagement, Adesola Adesugba, Country Marketing Manager, Open Access Data Centres Nigeria, said: “We are proud to have supported the Nigeria Data Protection Commission through the National Privacy Week Summit and to stand alongside the government in advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation objectives.

“Strengthening local data hosting and domiciliation is fundamental to national data sovereignty, improved security, and sustainable digital growth, and OADC Lagos remains committed to enabling this future.”

OADC’s participation at National Privacy Week Summit underscores its role as a trusted digital infrastructure partner to government and enterprise, supporting secure cloud connectivity, regulatory compliance, and the long-term development of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

Open Access Data Centres is part of the WIOCC Group and operates open-access, world-class data centres across Africa, serving cloud providers, network operators, enterprises, and public sector institutions.

Over the past 10 years, families have experienced shifts in structure and a perceived increase in fragmented interactions at home, largely driven by the pervasive use of technology and changing social norms. What does the next decade hold in store?

According to a global survey* by Kaspersky’s market research center, an overwhelming 81% of people believe digitalisation will fundamentally alter families’ joint pastimes within the next decade. This shift points to a future where bonding is mediated by advanced technology, creating new rituals and challenges in equal measure.

Screen time is family time, but it has its risks

Nearly half (48%) of all respondents envision AI-powered bedtime stories becoming a norm, a figure that rises to 53% among 18–34-year-olds. Today, apps and smart devices offer AI-narrated tales with customisable characters and plot twists.

For the busy parent, it presents a novel aid, for the child, an endlessly patient, interactive storyteller.

Meanwhile, with 31% of families anticipating children opting for digital pets over real ones, it seems that ‘man’s best friend’ just got its first update.

It should be noted, however, that while AI has the potential to enrich a child’s life, it necessitates vigilance. When children interact with AI, for stories or learning, parents must be proactive.

Select services with strong privacy policies that do not unnecessarily store or misuse a child’s data or voice interactions and further enhance control with digital parenting assistants like Kaspersky Safe Kids to restrict content and balance screen time.

Parents would be well placed to treat AI interactions as a new digital playground where they can use parental controls to limit session duration, choose vetted, age-appropriate AI story platforms, and most importantly, maintain an open dialogue about what these stories are and how they are created. Explain to children that an AI is a tool, not a friend, and encourage them to report any strange or uncomfortable interactions, just as they would in the physical world.

The key is to ensure AI complements human interaction, not replaces the comfort of a parent’s voice.

Blowing out the digital candles

Another 43% predict family celebrations migrating to video call formats as a standard, not an exception, a trend accelerated by recent global events but now seen as a permanent fixture for dispersed families.

Meanwhile a daring 26% can imagine taking family vacations entirely in virtual reality. This sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but then 10 years ago, the type of generative AI being used today was not widely anticipated.

This fragmented outlook highlights that the future of family digital activity will not arrive as a uniform wave, but as a series of adoptions shaped by cultural openness and digital infrastructure. For security leaders like Kaspersky, this evolving landscape presents new vectors for risk within the most intimate of spaces, the smart home.

Preparing the digital home for tomorrow’s family

43% of all respondents foresee home robots as family members. Moving beyond voice-activated personal assistants or autonomous vacuum cleaners, these would be embodied AI companions capable of tutoring, playing games, or providing companionship.

In the eyes of hackers, however, every new device, from a VR headset to a robot nanny, is a potential entry point. To keep things secure, change default passwords immediately, ensure all device firmware is regularly updated, and segment your home network.

Use Kaspersky Premium with a Smart Home Monitor which scans users’ home Wi-Fi network 24/7, and shows a list of devices connected to it, including such details as device type, OS and IP address, and alerts when a new or unknown device connects.

As robots, AI, and VR devices become part of the family circle, security must be foundational, not an afterthought.

“The accelerating pace of technology is not fragmenting the family but redefining its shared spaces. The future, as seen by the global majority, is one where digital and physical experiences blend to create new forms of togetherness, from a grandparent joining a birthday party via hologram to a child caring for a digital pet with a sibling across the globe.

“The challenge and opportunity lie in building secure digital environments with intention, ensuring they are safe, respectful, and ultimately, tools that bring us closer,” comments Seifallah Jedidi, Head of Consumer Channel for META at Kaspersky.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has flagged off a free nationwide training of 10 million Nigerians on financial inclusion and literacy.

This is just as Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria can reap bountifully from its demographic dividend only if young Nigerians and women are equipped with the needed skills and ethical grounding required for a speedily progressing digital economy.

The training undertaken by the Office of the Vice-President through the Presidential Committee on Economic & Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), chaired by Vice-President Shettima, is designed to equip Nigerians, particularly women and youths, with essential financial skills, investment knowledge, and digital competencies for sustainable wealth creation.

Accordingly, the Office of the vice-president, through the PreCEFI, signed a  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with six professional bodies to jointly design training programmes, certification pathways, digital skills initiatives, and mentorship platforms that would strengthen Nigeria’s financial and enterprise workforce.

The professional bodies include the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS); National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA); Chartered Risk Management Institute (CRMI) and Nigeria Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NIIE).

Speaking while officially flagging off the free nationwide training of 10 million Nigerians, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, the vice-president noted that the signing of the MoU between the Federal Government and six of Nigeria’s foremost professional bodies was more than a formal agreement.

“It is a strategic national investment in capacity as infrastructure which is the human, institutional and ethical foundations upon which inclusive growth must rest,” he stated.

Shettima noted that the Aso Accord on Economic and Financial Inclusion, which the PreCEFI is mandated to implement, recognises the fact that “financial inclusion is not achieved by access alone, but by competence, trust and capability”.

According to him, the nation “cannot build a one-trillion-dollar economy on weak skills, fragmented standards, or disconnected professional ecosystems”.

He said: “This MoU therefore establishes a working framework to harness the collective expertise of ICAN, CIBN, CIS, CRMI, NICA, and NIIE to advance inclusion through capacity building, advocacy, digital transformation, youth empowerment and support for small and medium practitioners.

“It establishes a structured mechanism for joint training programmes, policy dialogue, digital skills development, and professional standards that align market practice with national inclusion goals.”

The vice-president pointed out that while capacity building is financial inclusion, “without accountants who understand MSME formalisation, credit administrators who can assess risk beyond collateral, bankers who embed consumer protection, risk professionals who anticipate digital threats, and innovators who translate ideas into enterprises, inclusion remains a slogan rather than a system”.

Maintaining that the training programme must prioritise young Nigerians and women, Shettima said: “Importantly, this collaboration prioritises women and youth inclusion and digital transformation, recognising that Nigeria’s demographic dividend will only materialise if young people are equipped with relevant skills and ethical grounding for a fast-evolving digital economy.”

He charged the PreCEFI and the professional bodies not to treat the MoU as a mere document, but as a living platform for execution.

“Accordingly, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, I hereby flag off the free training of 10 million Nigerians with priority for women and youth across the country,” Shettima declared.

Earlier, President of ICAN, Mallam Haruna Yahaya, applauded the administration of President Tinubu for its bold economic reforms that has culminated in the flag off of the financial inclusion free training programme for 10 million women and youths in Nigeria.

He said the decision to embark on the project was prompted by visible improvements in the economy as a result of the gains of the Federal Government’s policy reforms.

Yahaya assured the vice-president of their professional support in the realisation of set objectives, describing their involvement in the project as an institutional honour.

On his part, the CEO of WAWU Africa, the technical partners in the programme, Mr Emmanuel Lennox, assured the Federal Government of the company’s readiness to deliver on the project, particularly in providing the digital platform and overall enabling environment for its success.

Also, explaining why the training of 10 million Nigerians on financial inclusion had become necessary, the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr. Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, said: “Exclusion is not only by lack of access, but by limited skills, weak institutional capacity, and insufficient professional support.

“Consequently, financial inclusion is not achieved by infrastructure alone; it is achieved when people and institutions are equipped to use that infrastructure responsibly, productively, and sustainably.”

The high point of the event was the signing of the MoU for the capacity building programme by the Federal Government and the six professional bodies.