Around the world, there are several civil society groups fighting to ensure that government take the digital rights of her citizens seriously. In Nigeria, we have Paradigm Initiative.

For many of us, losing internet connectivity for a day or having our favourite social media platforms disrupted for a couple of hours would be annoying, but should we be a more concerned about the implications of such events, especially when they happen during elections or vote counting? Should we be worried that the government can spy and punish anyone they please because they are pro-opposition? Why should you care if you’re neither pro-opposition nor very vocal on social media?

To help us answer these questions, I spoke with Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University. Prior to starting Paradigm Initiative, 'Gbenga led the Lagos Digital Village, a joint project of Junior Achievement of Nigeria, Microsoft and Lagos State Government.

Gbenga was listed by CNN as one of the Top 10 African Tech Voices on Twitter and by Ventures Africa as one of 40 African Legends Under 40. He has been advising the World Health Organisation on Data Privacy during the ongoing pandemic and is also advising the World Economic Forum on its Operationalising Trust Project, to develop rights-respecting Data Policy for businesses.

Here’s the link to watch Paradigm Initiative’s short film, Training Day: https://paradigmhq.org/trainingday/