By Usman Muhammad Salihu
I by no means really grasped the hazard of exposing private info within the digital house till Mr. Yushau Shuaib, my boss and mentor, handed me a guide—Born Digital: Understanding the First Technology of Digital Natives” by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser.
It was an eye-opener, stuffed with prescient warnings concerning the hidden prices of dwelling in a world the place our lives are more and more mediated by know-how. Paradoxically, neither of us imagined that the warnings in that guide would quickly play out so personally, and so dramatically.
Mr. Shuaib, a revered public relations skilled and founding father of PRNigeria, was a participant within the Senior Government Course 47 on the Nationwide Institute for Coverage and Strategic Research (NIPSS). On Might 2, 2025, he was abruptly suspended from the course.
His offense? Publishing articles that highlighted and supported President Bola Tinubu’s Digital and Blue Economic system reforms. One article, “Understanding the ‘Blue’ within the Blue Economic system,” praised the federal government’s revolutionary strides in marine useful resource growth.
One other, “NIPSS Goes Digital,” celebrated the institute’s transition to a paperless administrative system—a part of Nigeria’s broader digital transformation agenda. Whereas he didn’t write or edit the latter, it appeared on his media platform.
In response to his suspension, Mr. Shuaib petitioned the President, citing harassment, cyberbullying, {and professional} ostracism. He argued that the motion was punitive and lacked due course of.
NIPSS, nonetheless, insisted he breached institutional coverage by publishing supplies associated to the institute with out clearance—a rule they declare he had beforehand been warned about.
However what escalated the matter past inside disciplinary traces was a chilling twist: PRNigeria’s editorial e-mail account was allegedly compromised. Confidential communications between journalists and their sources, personal story drafts, and editorial exchanges have been reportedly accessed with out consent.
The intrusion, attributed to officers of the identical institute that suspended Mr. Shuaib, raised severe moral and authorized considerations. This was no odd knowledge breach. It was a direct violation {of professional} boundaries, journalistic independence, and Nigeria’s personal Cybercrime Act.
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It represented one thing extra insidious than only a lapse in judgment—it was, in some ways, a digital type of trespass. The incident despatched ripples via media and safety circles.
If an elite coverage institute, tasked with grooming Nigeria’s future strategic leaders, could possibly be implicated in such an act, what message does that ship about our nationwide dedication to digital ethics and rule of legislation?
It’s exactly the type of state of affairs “Born Digital” warns about—a world the place our personal digital footprints are susceptible not simply to hackers or firms, however to establishments that must be defending these rights.
In a single haunting passage, the authors write: “Younger people who find themselves dwelling their lives mediated by digital applied sciences pays the next worth, generally down the street, for the way in which privateness is dealt with on this converged, hybrid atmosphere…
“Most younger individuals are extraordinarily more likely to depart one thing behind in our on-line world that may turn out to be loads like a tattoo, one thing linked to them that they can not eliminate later in life.”
That line has stayed with me. As a result of it’s not nearly younger folks. It’s about all of us. Our identities, habits, preferences, areas, communications, and relationships—all are being recorded, saved, and generally exploited via what at the moment are often called digital dossiers.
These dossiers are detailed archives of our lives, compiled by apps, platforms, web sites, and even establishments. They’re created typically with out our consent or consciousness. Whereas they promise comfort and personalised experiences, additionally they include profound dangers.
Privateness has turn out to be a forex we’re pressured to spend for entry. And more and more, it’s a luxurious solely few can afford. The NIPSS breach is a wake-up name. It reveals the delicate boundaries between transparency and intrusion, between coverage enforcement and private violation.
It’s a reminder that digital transformation should be matched by moral duty and authorized accountability. As a journalist, I’ve typically lived beneath the phantasm of digital security.
However as a dad or mum, I now fear for my younger daughter and the tens of millions like her rising up in a world the place your knowledge is your shadow—and generally, your shackle. We should do extra. We should demand stronger knowledge safety legal guidelines, foster a tradition of privateness consciousness, and maintain establishments—regardless of how revered—to account.
Our digital world mustn’t come at the price of our humanity, our dignity, or our freedom. The threats are actual. The results are close to. And the time to behave is now.
