The Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr Bayo Adekanmbi, has said that the days when oil was the dominant global economic trading commodity was coming to an end, postulating instead that data is the new oil.
Speaking at a forum organised by the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law to examine the legal issues and challenges in the Nigerian Information and Communications Technology industry in the age of globalisation, Adekanmbi said Nigeria needs to start seeing data as a productivity catalyst, because data can save lives.
He said: “Data is the new oil; therefore, the data economy must be powered by data governance. The whole conversation around data economy is the fact that the things that appear seemingly difficult can be made simpler through the application of data.”
Adekanmbi, an ICT expert with 19 years experience in Nigeria and South Africa, said the future is here while explaining the role the use of data in Artificial Intelligence plays in people’s daily lives. He identified the roles from fighting cybercrime to education, shopping and to routine activities.
According to him, the world is moving to an industrial revolution phase where data is becoming the driver of economy, in the sense that data is now the new money.
Source: Vanguard
