A Professor of Law and Technology at Babcock University, Olubukola Olugasa, has advocated for the establishment of a robust legal framework to balance technology and societal responsibility especially in consolidating national data and strengthening Nigeria’s digital governance and security.
The don made the recommendation while delivering the University’s 59th inaugural lecture titled “The Quest for Return to Eden: Balancing Technological Acceleration with Legal Safeguards for Long-term Societal Responsibility.”
According to Prof. Olugasa, with technological innovation rapidly reshaping lives, without clear laws, technology risks outpacing ethics and accountability.
He underscored the need for legal safeguards to tame the rapid acceleration of technology in society’s pursuit of a utopian ideal through the provision of critical infrastructures for a Nigeria-exclusive digital platform to ensure data sovereignty.
“Data sovereignty is a critical aspect of national security and economic independence in the digital age. It is time Nigeria developed exclusive broadband akin to the Dangote’s refinery achievement,” he said.
His lecture also emphasized the importance of responsible integration of law and technology to enhance planning, security, and transparency, particularly in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which verifies voters, supports electronic voting, and uploads results to the IReV portal for real-time public viewing.
He cautioned that Nigeria and the wider Global South should not merely replicate Western technological pathways but instead forge innovative, culturally attuned alternatives.
According to him, technology has often perpetuated colonial structures, yet collaboration among nations can yield more resilient and equitable models for digital integration.
He stressed the need for strengthening energy capacity, by integrating diverse sources into the national grid, backed by legal frameworks as well as constitutional amendments to recognize and integrate indigenous laws.
Aside these, he noted a need to overhaul existing legislation to meet the demands of digital governance and the enactment of laws to regulate agriculture for better yields through natural farming while limiting GMFs as well as legislation to minimize indiscriminate use of paper in transactions and correspondence.
Prof. Olugasa concluded by urging Nigeria to chart its own course in technological development: “Nigeria, alongside the entire Global South, should not simply trail or replicate Western technological pathways but instead position to forge innovative, alternative trajectories.”
Pix:Babcock University President/Vice Chancellor, Prof. Afolarin Ojewole and the 59th inaugural lecturer, Prof. Olubukola Olugasa
Pix: Babcock University President/Vice Chancellor, Prof. Afolarin Olutunde Ojewole (2nd left) with Prof. Olubukola Olugasa and spouse, Barrister Olubumi Abike Olugasa, mother and daughters.
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