By Dr Adetokunbo Ajibola CDMP, DCAM, MDQM, The Data Evangelist
In a country battling youth unemployment and economic uncertainty, the search for sustainable, future-proof careers has never been more urgent. Yet, hidden in plain sight lies a goldmine Nigeria has yet to fully tap into: data management.
Over the past five years, I have dedicated my career to evangelising the power of data—not just as a resource, but as a career path that transforms lives. With more than two decades of experience in the field, I began mentoring and training Africans in the diaspora—many of whom had relocated to countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Australia. These were brilliant minds from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Togo, and Sierra Leone—some unemployed, others stuck in low-income jobs, and many simply looking for a career switch into something meaningful and stable.
What started as a personal mission to “give back” quickly turned into a movement. Thousands of these individuals have now successfully transitioned into roles as Data Governance Managers, Data Quality Managers, Metadata Specialists, and Master Data Stewards—working across banking, healthcare, telecoms, and government sectors. And they’re doing it without writing a single line of code.
The question is: why not replicate this success story at home in Nigeria?
A New Economy Demands a New Workforce
Nigeria’s digital transformation ambitions are bold—and rightly so. From fintech to smart government, artificial intelligence to cloud computing, the country is investing heavily in digital technologies. But while these conversations often focus on developers and engineers, they consistently overlook the crucial layer that enables digital systems to work—data management.
No AI algorithm works without trusted data.
No digital transformation succeeds without strong data governance.
No innovation scales without quality, integrated data across systems.
Yet, the skills needed to manage data as a strategic asset are missing from Nigeria’s workforce strategy. That’s where we must act.
A Sector Ripe for Job Creation
Data Management is industry-agnostic—it cuts across banking, healthcare, utilities, government, oil and gas, telecoms, and even education. More importantly, it is unsaturated, globally relevant, and can be taught in as little as 8–12 weeks with the right training, mentorship, and certification pathways such as the Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP).
From Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt to Kano, we have thousands of smart, driven graduates—many underemployed—who could be rapidly upskilled into data management roles. These are not jobs that will be automated away tomorrow. In fact, they will only grow more critical as digital systems and Artificial Intelligence expand.
A Call to Government and Industry
My call today is to both the Nigerian government and private sector leaders:
Let us not wait for foreign firms to define our data destiny.
We must:
- Integrate data management into national digital skills programmes.
- Create job creation incentives tied to AI/data management initiatives.
- Encourage regulatory bodies to recognise and promote certified data professionals.
- Partner with local training providers with international experience and mentors like myself to scale this knowledge across states.
Building an Indigenous Data Economy
This is not about charity—it is strategy. Just as India became a powerhouse in software development, Nigeria can become Africa’s data management capital.
We already have the talent. We already have the infrastructure. What we need now is vision and action.
I stand ready, with Berkeley Data Strategists and our growing global network of trained data professionals, to partner with government, ministries, agencies, and corporations ready to build a new future of work.
Data is the new oil—but only if you know how to manage it. Let’s give our people the tools to mine it.
Dr Adetokunbo Ajibola is a global data management consultant and founder of Berkeley Data Strategists. Known as “The Data Evangelist,” he has mentored over 4,000 professionals into rewarding careers in data governance, data quality, and metadata management.
