By Usman Aliyu

A new continent-wide research project backed by the Mozilla Foundation and Germany’s GIZ has placed Nigeria at the centre of a critical conversation about data protection and digital rights in Africa.

The initiative, launched in June 2025 under the Data Governance in Africa Research Fund, seeks to examine how data is collected, used and safeguarded across five African countries, with particular focus on enforcement issues in Nigeria.

In a statement by Kiito Shilongo, the Mozilla Foundation Senior Fellow leading the initiative, she said the study would explore the challenges of implementing existing data protection frameworks in Nigeria.

She said the focus would particularly be on the enforcement of the 2023 Nigeria Data Protection Act.

Despite being a significant legislative milestone, many stakeholders have raised concerns about weak oversight, low public awareness and poor institutional coordination.

She said the research aimed to provide evidence-based insights that could inform future policy and strengthen protection for Nigerians in the digital space.

Shilongo explained that the project was focused on ensuring that data governance in Africa was rooted in the realities of African societies and responsive to their needs.

“This initiative is about more than rules on paper — it’s about making sure digital systems work for people.

“Good data governance must protect rights, support innovation, and respond to real community needs, not just replicate imported standards,” she said.

The research spans Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and Eswatini and involves four African researchers selected from over 240 applicants.

Each researcher, Shilongo said, brought local expertise and a community-based perspective to the work.

She explained that the projects would unpack how national policies were being implemented on the ground, and whether they were producing systems that truly served the public good.

She said that in Ghana, the project was investigating how digital transformation was shaping the dynamics between data demand and supply.

For Kenya, she noted that researchers would look into the ongoing effort to harmonise data policies within the financial sector.

According to her, the studies are examining how privacy concerns are being balanced with the need for innovation, especially in underserved or rural populations in Eswatini and Zambia.

Although diverse in focus, she said all of the projects were united by a core objective to develop practical, actionable recommendations for policymakers and digital rights stakeholders.

Shilongo, who noted that the initiative was not just academic, said: “We’re not just evaluating policies — we’re challenging assumptions.

“For data governance to serve African societies, it must be shaped by African researchers, grounded in lived experiences, and oriented toward justice.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Christiana Fadare