*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, urges African countries to unite in shaping global technology governance, emphasising the importance of building 鈥榙igital sovereignty鈥� and strengthening regional capacities across the continent

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has urged African countries to unite in shaping global technology governance.

绿帽献妻 reports Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of NITDA, who stated this at the recent 19th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, also stressed the importance of building 鈥渄igital sovereignty鈥� and strengthening regional capacities.

Inuwa also advocated ethical and responsible governance of digital technology in Africa.

Addressing global leaders at the event with the theme, 鈥淏uilding Our Multi-stakeholder Digital Future鈥�, the NITDA Chief lamented the unregulated rise of social media and the risks it posed.

The Information Technology sector regulatory agency in a blog note at the weekend equally noted Inuwa particularly cited cases like the Cambridge Analytica scandal as a wake-up call for stricter digital oversight on the African continent.

Inuwa, in his presentation at the forum, highlighted Nigeria鈥檚 approach in tackling digital challenges through its Code of Practice (COP), a framework ensuring social media platforms adhere to Nigerian laws and respect cultural contexts.

The Director-General as well disclosed the agency鈥檚 homegrown COP has enabled efficient content moderation, with over 60 million harmful posts removed in 2024 alone, while wrongly flagged content was reinstated in the country鈥檚 digital space.

The agency stated: 鈥淭his approach has also driven economic gains, with tech companies contributing more than 2.5 trillion Naira in VAT (Value Added Tax) within six months.

Inuwa, therefore, tasked African economies to unite towards shaping global technology governance while building digital sovereignty and strengthening regional capacities.