FG commences youth training on data protection awareness
By Our Correspondent
The Federal Government has commenced the training of young Nigerians under the Youth Data Protection Awareness and Training (YDPAT) programme.
Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, announced this in Abuja during the official inauguration of the YDPAT platform.
He described the initiative as “a bold, necessary, and visionary journey” aimed at empowering youth to understand and protect their data rights while creating career opportunities in the digital economy.
“As Nigeria’s digital economy expands, the risks faced by our most active online citizens, the youth, also increase,” Olawande said.
He unveiled the YDPAT platform as an interactive, youth-friendly portal for training, certification, resources, and continuous engagement.
He acknowledging that digital technologies offered opportunities in learning, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and creativity.
The minister warned that they also exposed young people to risks such as identity theft and data exploitation.
“In spite of the passage of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, awareness and compliance, especially among the youth, remain very low.
“There are currently fewer than 5,000 certified Data Protection Officers nationwide,” he noted.
Olawande said the initiative aimed to fill that gap while also creating jobs in the data protection sector.
“Key objectives of YDPAT include training youth for data privacy careers, increasing awareness of the NDPA, global privacy standards, and building a national movement of digitally literate, security-aware young people.
He explained the programme was about building a privacy-first generation, with inclusion and sustainability at its core.
Also speaking at the event, Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, described the programme as the beginning of a transformative journey.
She said it merged knowledge, technology, and policy to build a more secure and inclusive digital Nigeria.
“We are targeting one million youths and women, and the certification of 10,000 Data Protection Officers.
“This is the foundation of an empowered digital workforce,” she said.
Bala-Usman urged Nigerian youth to equip themselves with adaptable, market-relevant, and future-facing digital skills.
She emphasised that modern industries relied on secure management and ethical use of data.
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