A cybersecurity expert, Mr. Remi Afon has posited that for the Nigerian government to reap the full benefits of digital transformation, the country must focus on
accelerating improvements in five fundamental pillars.
The five pillars, according to Afon, who is also the President of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) are infrastructure, digital platforms, digital
financial services, digital entrepreneurship and digital skills.
Giving his open remark at this year’s Cyber Secure Nigeria 2021 Hybrid Conference with the theme “The Future of Cyber Security in Nigeria’s Digital Transformation”,
Afon noted that Nigeria is currently capturing just a small fraction of its potential for digital development, stressing that strategic investments and interventions
are needed for Nigeria to develop a vibrant digital economy and kickstart its digital transformation.
“Any country that is ready to leverage the digital economy must first get some basic ingredients such as infrastructure, digital platforms, digital financial services,
digital entrepreneurship and digital skills to kick off,” he emphasised at the conference attended by stakeholders form the government and private sector.
He believes that the supply of broadband infrastructure is the necessary condition to expand access. Thus, the governments need to promote the deployment of networks
and appropriate solutions in underserved areas and provide complementary and free Wi-Fi public access. The digital divide and inequalities, according to him should be properly addressed so that the benefits of broadband are not only tilted towards the well-educated and wealthy, instead the government should ensure that investments in technology
that benefits the underprivileged.
He added as the most populous country in Africa with over 200 million people, Nigeria is currently capturing just a small fraction of its potential for digital development. Thus, strategic investments and interventions are needed for Nigeria to develop a vibrant digital economy and kick-start its digital transformation.
Meanwhile, with rapid technological advances and digital transformation, the CSEAN President noted that it’s no surprise that the potential for cyberattacks and data
breaches remain a top concern in today’s digital landscape. In the last one year, the cyber security threat landscape has evolved rapidly and attacks have increased in number and sophistication.
He said although, most data breaches in Nigeria go unreported, the increasing amount of large-scale, well-publicized breaches globally suggests that not only are the number of security breaches going up, they’re also increasing in severity as well.
This year Cyber Secure conference invokes a collaborative effort with an assembly of cybersecurity industry practitioners, business owners, academia, industry, government, military, and law enforcement agencies with a view to identify areas of common interests and proffer inter-workings on ways to tackle cybercrime. The 2-day high profile event attracts the best in cybersecurity Industry globally and feature rich cybersecurity contents of informative and educational value. The conference is aimed at preparing participants through workshops, plenary, technical and breakout sessions on The Future of Cyber Security in Nigeria’s Digital Transformation.
The conference is also packed with rich cyber security and digital transformation topics, which were delivered by distinguished speakers.