News Highlights:
- NITDA emphasises policy, not just infrastructure, as the primary driver of Nigeria’s digital transformation, urging stronger collaboration across government, private sector, and civil society.
- Officials highlight the need for local data hosting and investment in indigenous cloud infrastructure, warning that over 90% of Nigeria’s data is stored abroad, threatening national sovereignty.
Nigeria’s push to become a leading digital hub in Africa will depend less on infrastructure alone and more on the strength of its policy environment, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said.
Speaking at the IoT West Africa Conference, Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, stressed that while infrastructure development is important, policy remains the primary catalyst for sustainable digital transformation. Inuwa was represented at the panel session by Dr. Aristotle Onumo.
The session, themed “The Lagos Abuja Digital Corridor: Building Africa’s Next Data Centre and Cloud Hub,” focused on aligning Nigeria’s infrastructure ambitions with a coherent regulatory framework.
According to Onumo, “while infrastructure responds to demand, policy remains the critical driver that creates an enabling environment for sustainable digital growth.”
The IoT West Africa Conference, a gathering of policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders, explored developments across Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and broader digital transformation.
Onumo pointed to Nigeria’s broadband policy as a practical example of policy shaping infrastructure outcomes, noting that it prescribes minimum speeds of 10 Mbps in rural areas and 25 Mbps in urban centres. This, he said, provides a clear framework for prioritising deployment along the Lagos–Abuja digital corridor.
He warned, however, that infrastructure expansion cannot succeed in isolation, emphasising the need for cross-sector collaboration. “Collaboration is the pathway that massifies impact, while partnership harnesses collective intelligence. No one can achieve this in isolation,” he said.
Central to NITDA’s strategy is the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud Project, designed to strengthen indigenous cloud providers and reduce reliance on foreign hyperscale operators. By scaling local infrastructure to global standards, the initiative aims to localise data hosting, lower operational costs, and expand access to cloud services nationwide.
Beyond enabling infrastructure, Onumo highlighted the role of policy in stimulating demand. He cited the consolidation of servers across government agencies as a mechanism for driving cloud adoption and catalysing investment in data centres.
He also underscored the importance of public-private partnerships (PPP) in “co-creating, co-owning, and co-delivering” digital infrastructure.
“We are no longer looking at IT from the perspective of infrastructure alone, but as an integrated system that creates value for the people,” Onumo said.
He called for stronger stakeholder alignment with NITDA’s vision, adding, “If we must achieve our mission, we need you, and you need us. Together, we can make Nigeria a digitally enabled nation, fostering inclusive economic development through technological innovation.”
As part of its broader roadmap, NITDA is advancing initiatives such as the Digital Literacy for All programme, which targets 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027. Through collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the agency is deploying digital literacy champions across all 774 local government areas, aiming to train 30 million Nigerians within three years. “That is the power of collaboration and partnership,” Onumo added.
In a complementary keynote on Day 2, National Commissioner and CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, underscored the critical role of data protection in sustaining Nigeria’s digital economy.
Referencing the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, Olatunji highlighted the importance of data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and the expanding role of data centres as core digital infrastructure.
He warned that hosting over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s data abroad poses risks to national sovereignty, while urging increased local investment in a sector projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2031.
Together, the discussions reinforced a central message: Nigeria’s digital future will be determined not just by the scale of its infrastructure, but by the policies that guide, protect, and sustain it.
