Oyedele warns Nigeria against repeating oil mistakes in data hosting
- Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele says over 90 per cent of Nigeria's data is stored abroad, costing the country money and jobs.
- He spoke at the University of Uyo convocation, comparing the trend to exporting crude oil and importing fuel.
- He urged graduates to use artificial intelligence responsibly and called for more local digital infrastructure.
Nigeria should not let its digital economy follow the path of its oil industry, where raw resources left the country and finished products came back at a cost, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said.
Oyedele gave the warning in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while delivering the convocation lecture at the University of Uyo, titled "Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation." A statement from the ministry's information unit, signed by Efe Ovuakporie, quoted him.
He recalled that Nigeria long exported crude oil and then imported refined fuel, a pattern he said cost the country value, skills and jobs. He warned that the same thing could happen with data if Nigerians keep storing and processing it abroad.
The numbers behind the warning
According to the minister, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026. Yet the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) estimates that over 90 per cent of the country's data is kept outside Nigeria.
That arrangement, Oyedele said, means Nigeria pays in foreign currency to host and process its own data, local firms and professionals lose work, and Nigerian information falls under foreign laws.
He described digital sovereignty as a country's power to decide, under its own laws, how data created within it is gathered, kept, opened and used. He said it does not mean cutting Nigeria off from the global digital economy, but making sure the country gains more from taking part.
To get there, he called for serious investment in local digital infrastructure, stronger regulators, and Nigerian businesses and skilled workers who can turn data into products and services sold from within the country.
Advice for graduates and universities
On artificial intelligence (AI), Oyedele said the technology is changing the jobs available and the skills employers want. He told the graduating students to use AI but keep their own judgement, critical thinking, creativity, empathy and honesty.
He also urged young Nigerians to be careful online, noting that employers and others now form opinions from what people post, comment and share. He advised them to disagree politely, challenge ideas rather than people, and remember that attention is not the same as respect, or popularity as credibility.
He warned that AI can spread false information and impersonation, making good conduct and public trust more important than ever.
Oyedele asked universities to go beyond issuing certificates and become centres of innovation, entrepreneurship and practical problem-solving. Their worth, he argued, should also be judged by the problems their graduates solve, the businesses they start and what they give back to their communities.
He named agriculture, energy, healthcare, marine resources, environmental management and digital services as areas full of opportunity, and listed five duties for the new graduates: lifelong learning, creating value, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and taking part in building the nation.
Quoting management thinker Peter Drucker, he told them: "The best way to predict the future is to create it."
