For a “jollof rice” of personal data protection in Africa!

Centuries of debate have torn apart passions between Senegalese, Ghanaians and Nigerians in particular, over the origins of “jollof rice”. Each of these three protagonists originally attributed its appearance on the continent to themselves. It should be noted that “jollof rice” is listed as an intangible heritage by UNESCO, which may also explain this craze.

These lengthy debates and heated passions were not so neutral and without stakes. Indeed, it is important for these states to have African and especially international recognition of the paternity of this “jollof rice”, for reasons of tourist and economic attractiveness but also and above all for reasons of identity and culture. Recently, to say mass on this history, UNESCO, following research on the subject, attributed the recognition of the paternity of the “jollof rice” to Senegal. In other words, this “jollof war” has been won by Senegal, which is therefore recognised as the country of origin of this “Ceebu jën” as it is locally called.

Beware, this dish does not only vary in name. Indeed, after having made your choice between the denomination “jollof rice” or “ceebu jën”, it should be noted that different variations of this same dish exist in the different African cultures, that is to say in many African countries beyond Senegal. Each one has therefore been able to give its own little touch to the mythical dish and finally claim to be the father of it.

If there is one thing to remember from this “jollof war”, it is that the most sensitive link within a community is the one that each individual maintains with his or her culture and more globally with everything that he or she manages to integrate into this “cultural portfolio”!

Why not use this lesson to develop data protection in Africa?

Indeed, African populations, at least in some states, benefit from institutional protection of their data through the laws and independent authorities put in place. According to the AFAPDP (French-speaking association of personal data protection authorities), “The first ‘African’ data protection law (not available in French) was adopted by the State of Cape Verde in 2001 (…) The first data protection authority was set up in Burkina Faso, following the adoption of the Personal Data Protection Act in 2004″.

In Senegal (the Jollof rice war winner), where since the law n° 2008-12 of 25 January 2008 on the protection of personal data, a personal data protection commission called CDP (Commission de protection des Données Personnelles du Sénégal) has also been set up. Currently, 25 out of 54 African countries have a personal data protection authority.

At the international level, Africa is also distinguished by the fact that some African countries, such as Senegal, have ratified Convention 108, which was opened for signature on 28 January 1981 and is the only binding international instrument on the protection of personal data. It is therefore clear that Africa is beginning to move the yardstick in terms of personal data protection.

But what about the Africans themselves? Are they well informed about these advances? Do they take advantage of and are they aware of the existence of all these rights and mechanisms at the service of their private lives?

In this respect the picture is less flattering. Indeed, many citizens of those countries with data protection laws are unaware of their existence and benefits. Even more seriously, many of them are unaware of the basic concepts and notions surrounding the protection of personal data; they simply feel remote from it.

There is therefore an urgent need to integrate data protection into the cultural portfolio of Africans in general, so that they are as committed to it as to jollof rice.

This challenge is all the more important as the African population is not on the fringes of the use of digital products and services. Whether it is on social networks, websites, connected objects, cloud services, etc., Africa is everywhere and so is the data of Africans.

How to make a success of the “jollof rice” of personal data protection in Africa?

Just as rice and fish/meat are the 2 main ingredients of “Jollof Rice” let us now see how and what are the 2 key ingredients of a good “Jollof Rice” of personal data protection in Africa.

1st ingredient

Make the notions and concepts surrounding personal data protection accessible at least in the national language, Wolof. The first element of a people’s “cultural portfolio” is its language. Everything that has simply been integrated by a people, has been done so through the language they master. If today the very popular GDPR is so permeated in the French environment it is mainly under its translation RGPD, and this is a basic example among many others. It would therefore be important, in order to maintain the example of Senegal, that the notions and concepts revolving around the protection of personal data be accessible at least in the national language, Wolof. This would enable Senegalese citizens to feel more concerned about the protection of their own personal data, as they would have a greater understanding of it.

Furthermore, it should be noted that although French is the official language in Senegal, part of the Senegalese population still does not attend school and therefore does not have a perfect command of French, while having a partial or complete command of Wolof (national language).

To succeed in this mission, the public authorities can rely mainly on :

The resources and willingness of local Senegalese lawyers and the diaspora, specialised around these subjects,
Private actors in the data privacy ecosystem such as E-Karangé
Specialists in the Wolof language in Senegal to help with the appropriate translation of terms. Among these specialists there is undoubtedly Professor Massamba Gueye, director of the House of Orality in Senegal and other colleagues.

This popularisation must necessarily involve a synergy of the actors mentioned above, the CDP (Senegalese authority for the protection of personal data) and the public authorities (ministries, government departments, etc.).

2nd ingredient

The integration of the concepts and fundamentals of personal data protection into school and university curricula. The future of a people is prepared as soon as the next generation of leaders is educated. In other words, if the objective is to instil a strong culture of personal data protection in Senegalese and its future leaders, it would be wise to start at the grassroots. This basis is nothing more than the school and university curriculum. It is therefore necessary to raise awareness of personal data protection at all levels of the education system. Moreover, and as a reminder, pupils and students are the first users of digital products and services, so what could be more natural than to raise their awareness in an effective way?

In France, for example, although they laid the foundations of personal data protection very early on, through the Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, not all populations are fully aware. However, a great deal has been done and continues to be done to popularise the protection of personal data. Yes, the popularisation of personal data protection, even for Europeans, is a long and ongoing process, and Paris was not built in a day.

The determination of African countries on this path must undoubtedly be equal to or greater than that of the latter, in view of the urgent need to raise awareness of these issues on the continent.

The protection of personal data is first and foremost an individual issue before being institutional!

There is an urgent need for Africa in general to take this addition of personal data protection to the “cultural portfolio” of Africans to heart. Only in this way will every African finally feel close enough to his or her own personal data and more aware of and committed to protecting it. Let us not forget that data protection is first and foremost an individual issue before it is an institutional one. And without this acculturation of personal data protection by Africans, neither the laws, nor the authorities, nor even an African RGPD would be effective!

This can be done by adapting the concepts and notions surrounding the protection of personal data into local African languages. On the other hand, it would also be relevant to integrate concepts and fundamentals of personal data protection into school and university curricula, in order to educate “everyone” and “very early”.

Through these few practices taken on a large scale, we hope to achieve together, not a “Jollof rice war” but a “Jollof rice Harmony” of personal data protection in Africa.

Martine Ndéo Diouf