Nigeria, Nov. 1 -- As of August, Nigeria had about 140 million internet subscribers, with broadband penetration nearing 49 per cent, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In such a wired nation, where personal information is now a form of currency, the stakes have never been higher. Guarding that frontier is Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), whose mandate is to turn Nigeria into a data-safe economy - and Africa into a data-respecting continent.

Nearly half of Nigerians now live in a mobile-first, internet-first environment, where names, biometrics, financial records, and location data are constantly exchanged. As Africa's digital ecosystem expands, so do the ...