By Abigail Mbah
Lagos State’s drive to automate processes across its ministries, departments and agencies will only succeed if workers understand how to use the new systems safely, cybersecurity firm ESET Nigeria has warned.
The message came at the Lagos State Civil Service Commission Career Week 2026, where ESET Nigeria’s managing director, Olufemi Ake, spoke on the need to build a security-conscious public workforce. The week focused on business process automation and the changing demands of digital government work.
Ake told participants that technology can raise productivity, improve collaboration and speed up service delivery. But without awareness, those same tools leave organisations exposed. “People remain a critical layer of organisational security,” he stressed, pointing to everyday habits such as spotting suspicious activity, questioning unusual requests and making careful digital decisions.
Public institutions handle sensitive information systems and citizen services on a large scale. For them, cybersecurity awareness is not just about reacting to attacks. It is about keeping operations running, protecting data and maintaining public trust, Ake said.
ESET Nigeria’s involvement fits a wider pattern. The company has worked with Lagos State before on staff training programmes that cover modern threats, including those powered by artificial intelligence. Officials have repeatedly noted that technology alone is not enough; employees form the first line of defence as more government services move online.
The Career Week brought civil servants together for sessions on professional development and the future of work in a digital environment. Adding cybersecurity to the agenda underlined a practical reality: as offices rely more on connected systems and online platforms, staff need the skills to use them without creating new risks.
ESET Nigeria said its role goes beyond selling tools. Through awareness sessions like this one, the company aims to make security part of everyday digital responsibility rather than an afterthought. For Lagos, which continues to expand automation across the public service, that focus on people could determine whether the transformation holds up under real-world pressure.