The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has reaffirmed the pivotal role of policy in accelerating Nigeria’s digital transformation and positioning the country as a leading technology hub in Africa.
Speaking at the IoT West Africa Conference during a panel session themed “The Lagos-Abuja Digital Corridor: Building Africa’s Next Data Centre and Cloud Hub,” Inuwa, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, stressed that while infrastructure development responds to demand, policy remains the key enabler for creating a sustainable environment for digital growth.
He noted that IoT West Africa serves as a leading platform for industry stakeholders, policymakers and innovators to deliberate on advancements in the Internet of Things, smart cities, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital transformation.
According to him, Nigeria’s broadband policy, which prescribes minimum internet speeds of 10 Mbps for rural communities and 25 Mbps for urban centres, provides a strategic framework for prioritising infrastructure rollout along the Lagos-Abuja digital corridor.
He, however, cautioned that achieving widespread digital infrastructure deployment would require deliberate collaboration among government institutions, the private sector and civil society organisations.
“Collaboration is the pathway that amplifies impact, while partnership harnesses collective intelligence. No one can achieve this in isolation,” he said.
Dr. Onumo also highlighted the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud Project, describing it as a flagship initiative designed to strengthen indigenous cloud service providers and reduce dependence on foreign hyperscale operators.
He explained that the initiative aims to scale local infrastructure to global standards, domesticate data hosting, lower operational costs and improve access to cloud services across the country.
He further emphasised that policy should not only facilitate infrastructure development but also stimulate market demand. As an example, he cited the consolidation of servers by government agencies as a move capable of creating significant demand for cloud services and encouraging increased investment in data centres.
He stressed the importance of public-private partnerships in co-creating, co-owning and co-delivering digital infrastructure and services.
“We are no longer looking at IT solely from the perspective of infrastructure, but as an integrated system that creates value for the people,” Onumo stated.
Calling for stronger collaboration across sectors, he urged stakeholders to work closely with NITDA to build a digitally inclusive Nigeria.
“If we must achieve our mission, we need you, and you need us. Together, we can make Nigeria a digitally enabled nation that fosters inclusive economic development through technological innovation,” he said.
Highlighting NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan, Onumo referenced initiatives such as the Digital Literacy for All programme, which targets equipping 70 per cent of Nigerians with digital skills by 2027.
He disclosed that through partnerships with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), NITDA is deploying digital literacy champions across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, with a target of training 30 million Nigerians within the next three years.
“That is the power of collaboration and partnership,” he added.
In his keynote address on the second day of the conference, the National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, underscored the importance of robust data protection and privacy frameworks in safeguarding Nigeria’s digital economy.
He highlighted issues surrounding data sovereignty, the growing significance of data centres, and regulatory obligations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Olatunji described data centres as critical infrastructure for Nigeria’s digital transformation, while expressing concern that over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s data is currently hosted abroad, a situation he described as a major risk to national digital sovereignty.
He called for increased investment in the sector, noting that Nigeria’s data centre market is projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2031.
