E-Business
NITEC: Data Sovereignty & Job Creation via Indigenous Data Centres

The Nigeria International Technology Exhibition & Conference (NITEC 2016) is now less than two weeks away, and if there is one thing that this conference is about, it’s leveraging technology to re-engineer the nation’s economy.
The conference is deemed to panning attentions, private and public sectors alike, to “how world-class cloud services accelerate a smarter society”, enabling job creation with ease!
Data centres as occupying the very core of technology advancement particular in a very unsafe world cannot be over emphasized. Participants will look forward to answers to why the majority of Nigeria’s data still located outside the shores of this country; what policies should be put in place to advance technologically and ensure that multi-nationals hosting our data situate some of their data centres within the shores of Africa and Nigeria in particular?
Just recently, the Office for Nigerian Content Development in ICT (ONC) lamented the trillions of dollar revenue loss to overseas hosting of data. The Office has also threatened to enlist the help of the Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute government officials who contravene guidelines on hosting government generated data within the country.
The unfortunate side of the side of the story is that Government owned Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are defaulters as well.
In fact, said it may enlist the help of the Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute these officials who, not only contravene guidelines on hosting government generated data and domains within the country, but engage in massive fraud, embezzling public funds through this means. Such is a pure treasonable felony, as the national security is handled with levity. Still same people would mount podiums in conferences, summits and worships, bashing the nation’s IT/ICT industry of inaction with regard developing apparatuses for national security.
While they are feeding other data centers abroad, creating jobs in those countries, our naira continues to suffocate, while unemployment rate skyrockets. What a pity!
The huge losses to the country are largely are high-prices we are paying following the departure sections 17 (4) and 18 of the NITDA Act of 2007?.
Lamenting the loss, Mr Inye Kemabonta, acting national coordinator of ONC re-echoed that localisation of data hosting that keeps Nigeria’s data and internet traffic home is a key revenue generator that can boost the economy.
There are no two ways about it. For example, Rack Centre located in the heart of Lagos State posses enough capacity to bring to an end the ill-doings of these government officials. And what on earth is the reason even a SME would want to host data abroad in the present economic realities. Security? Affordability? Agility? Come on, these are outdated arguments as far as data centre infrastructure are concerned. With Rack Centre, MainOne, MTN Business, Vodacom Busines and other data centres in view, it will do us a lot good to host our data home!
Why is this imperative? We are discussing about the future of data hosting in the country; especially sovereign data hosting. If we are truly going to be a developed economy and a country to be reckon with, we cannot toil with our sovereignty.
Kemabonta rightly captured the scenario thus, “Sovereign data means Government (generated) Data. It is inconceivable for anyone to accept the fact that such data are hosted outside our shores. It is a no brainer that we must bring back those data. We should look at hosting Sovereign data outside the country from the perspective of Aso Villa being governed by foreigners. Sovereignty is what makes you a nation and to say such thing is not in your house is an indictment on your personality. That alone is enough to worry us, but people are not even aware of this implication.
“There are always data protection laws in every country, because every day as a citizen, people collect your data, whether for driving licence, birth certificate or SIM card registration; they collect your name, blood group, religion, family background, etc., even medical data of citizens.
“At the broad level these citizens’ data should be protected. How about all the financial transactions we make. These are critical and classified data. It is unimaginable that these things are not within your reach. Any one not aware of this hasn’t really started planning national development”.
The truth is, they know. These officials know what they are doing! They simply don’t care on doing the right thing. They are all committing crimes, but what gladdens me is this: when ONC begins to publish names of those who are breaching the regulations (as Kemabonte indicated); those that courts will declare criminals eventually, we believe the Attorney General of the Federation will take action.
Data centres are revenue-spinning venture when tapped into, just as the job creation potentials are enormous. Have you considered a simply calculation that the “data centers are but one element of a collaborative organization that includes research & development, marketing, sales, service, and support, those couple of thousand on-site positions help such a company to employ tens of thousands more on a full-time basis offering the services delivered from those data centers, even after adjusting for employees in non-services divisions?”.
Well, we have sat the fence enough. It is high time we harnessed these potentials for our common good.
To this end, every well meaning Nigeria should be in support of NITEC 2016. Let’s discuss and showcase what we have got to fix this economy. Oil is gone for good. Welcome technology.
Holding at Civic Centre, Lagos from 23rd-24th of June, NITEC 2016 remains a formidable to bridge the gap between the private and public sectors and the international technology community in re-engineering the African technological ecosystem for greater impact on the continent’s GDP.
Likewise, through plenary sessions and exhibitions the worth of our technology system will be showcased to thousands of attendees; exhibition booth (2 days); placement of brand logo on event brochure and website; complimentary wifi, place web banners and share branded gifts at booths.
The renowned speakers will spark deepened conversation and help through up new innovations that will help Nigeria and indeed, Africa, on digitization. Plan to be there!
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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