WEEKLY

INSIGHTS
Data Sovereignty and the opportunity for Glocalization
The advancing digital age is ushering in paradigm shifts for countries,
continuously nudging nations to introduce regulatory data control and
management measures on their citizenry data. For countries like Nigeria, with
seventy per cent of its population under the age of thirty, the digital economy is
gaining sharp focus as the government seeks to depart from a mono-product oil
economy. The implication for Nigeria’s Digital economy is that Data becomes
the new oil, and what we do with it takes centre stage scrutiny. Topics like
“Data Residency” and “Data Sovereignty” have become hot topics in the
discourse of advancing Digital economies globally, and Nigeria is no exception.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) guidelines

have a mandate that promotes local data residency. NITDA guidelines further
direct government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), including
network service and information management companies, to host all
subscriber, consumer, and sovereign data in Nigeria. These can be found in
Guidelines 11.1(4), 12.1(4), 13.1(2), and 13.2(3). The implication is clear cut,
Otuya Okecha “Data is Sovereign.” But what does this mean for global media technology
IT Advisor, ACIOE Associates companies?

Most of the global online media companies deal with data generated in localities beyond theirs. They generate traffic for their
business benefits, beyond borders, beyond where they are registered to do business and pay taxes. They create large social
media network platforms, leveraging cloud technology to enhance interactions of registered users/customers from various
countries who have signed up and consented to allow them to manage their data. Guideline 13.2(3) of Nigeria’s NITDA
Guidelines does not permit MDAs to host sovereign data on servers outside Nigeria. And Guideline 11.1(4) restricts
telecommunication companies from hosting subscriber and consumer data outside Nigeria. Many policy watchers suggest that
regulatory measures establishing Data Sovereignty should encourage such media tech business players to adopt glocalization
strategies—such as partnering with countries to build and operate data centers locally. According to its newsroom, corporations
like IBM took such a bold step four years ago by building a cloud data center in South Africa and is reported to have forty-six
similar data centers across the six continents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has come with lessons, and many can now see the essence of leveraging cloud technologies to
conduct business online. The aftermath indicates that the demand for server exchanges from data centers globally will naturally
increase. And a world of more online activities would mean a need for more data centers. Quartz Africa reports that the United
States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in 2020 committed to investing up to $300 million in Africa Data Centres. In a
similar vein, Quartz Africa further reports that Actis, a UK-based investment firm, injected $250 million in 2020 to get a
controlling stake in a Nigerian data center known as Rack center. State governments could leverage their resources, both natural
and territorial, to encourage such types of investments. For example, there are parts of Nigeria with very high altitudes and low
temperatures that may be ideal for data center locations. Foreign media tech giants could consider putting some more skin in
the game. There is a need for them to consider setting up shop in localities. Most of these companies currently reap from the
data interactions of local citizenry beyond their borders. They should not just come in for global business but should transfer
Digital technology skills for local benefit, while governments find ways to ease their act of doing business. It is such collaborative
glocalization measures that would encourage the customized development of local online products. This collaborative approach
of localizing investments would spur local content development while keeping the data of citizens sovereign

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