By Atoyebi Nike
President Bola Tinubu says data has become Nigeria’s new oil, calling it vital for governance and global relevance. He ordered all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to capture, secure, and share data in ways that serve the public.
He gave the directive at the 2025 International Civil Service Conference in Abuja. The event also marked the launch of Galaxy Backbone’s 1Government Cloud Academy, set up to train civil servants in digital skills.
“Data grows more valuable the more we refine and use it,” Tinubu said. “We must publish verified data and share it globally to boost Nigeria’s image.”
The President said all data must be handled under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (2023) and stored in secure local or allied data centers.
Galaxy Backbone Launches Digital Academy
The new 1Gov Cloud Academy will teach civil servants how to manage digital tools and help Nigeria go paperless. It will also train select staff as “transformation champions” in each MDA.
“Many tools fail not because they don’t work but because users don’t trust or understand them,” said Wumi Oghoetuoma, Programme Director.
He said poor communication and unresolved tech issues often give the wrong impression that systems are broken. The academy will offer IT certification courses to improve support and response.
“This is more about mindset and teamwork than tech alone,” he added. “We already have skilled people. What we need now is trust and adoption.”
Civil Service Reform Backed by Global Support
Head of Service, Didi Walson-Jack, said reforms like ServiceWise GPT and digital performance tracking now align individual efforts with national goals.
British High Commissioner Richard Montgomery praised the reforms. He said they were bold moves but urged better service delivery and strong ethics.
As Nigeria pushes digital reform, officials say success depends on people, process, and trust not just technology.
