By Although infrastructure is essential in driving the digital economy, the central role of policy as an enabler of Nigeria’s digital transformation cannot be ignored.
According to the Director‑General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, policy remains the critical driver that creates an enabling environment for sustainable digital growth.
Inuwas who spoke during a panel session at the IoT West Africa Conference on the theme “The Lagos‑Abuja Digital Corridor: Building Africa’s Next Data Centre and Cloud Hub”, emphasised that infrastructure responds to demand.
The NITDA boss who was represented by Dr Aristotle Onumo, Director, Stakeholders Management and Partnership, explained that Nigeria’s broadband policy, which stipulates minimum speeds of 10 Mbps for rural areas and 25 Mbps for urban centres, provides a strategic framework for prioritising infrastructure deployment along the Lagos‑Abuja digital corridor.
He cautioned, however, that without deliberate collaboration and partnership between government, the private sector, and civil society, widespread infrastructure rollout would remain challenging.
“Collaboration is the pathway that massifies impact, while partnership harnesses collective intelligence. No one can achieve this in isolation,” he said.
Onumo also spoke on the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud Project; a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening indigenous cloud service providers and preventing the dominance of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure by foreign hyperscale operators.
By scaling local infrastructure to meet global standards, the project seeks to domesticate data hosting, reduce operational costs, and improve access to cloud services across the country.
He further stressed that policy must not only enable infrastructure development but also stimulate demand. As an example, he cited the consolidation of servers by government agencies, which creates significant demand for cloud services and, in turn, drives investment in data centres.
He emphasised the importance of public‑private partnerships (PPP) in co‑creating, co‑owning, and co‑delivering data centres and digital services.
“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 on stakeholders across sectors to work with NITDA in building a digital Nigeria, stating: “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.”
In his remarks, National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, stressed the importance of safeguarding Nigeria’s digital economy through strong data protection and privacy frameworks.
He highlighted data sovereignty, the growing role of data centres, and regulatory expectations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, noting both the benefits of compliance and the risks of non-compliance.
Olatunji underscored that data centres are now critical infrastructure for Nigeria’s digital transformation.
While decrying that over 90 per cent of the Nigeria’s data is hosted abroad which is precarious for the nation’s sovereignty he encouraged for more investment in the sector as it is projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2031.
