Firms seek digital sovereignty as Nigeria hosts only 22% of top websites

By Chinenye Anuforo
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Nigeria’s quest for digital sovereignty received a major boost last week as the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) and TeleAfrica Communications Limited convened industry stakeholders in Abuja to tackle the country’s alarming internet hosting deficit and strengthen local internet infrastructure.

At the centre of discussions during the two-day BGP Peering Workshop 2026 was a troubling reality that despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria hosts only 22 per cent of its top 1,000 most-accessed websites locally, far below the continental average of 34 per cent. Even more concerning, about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s country-code (.ng) domains are hosted outside the country, while 15 states have no independent network presence.

Industry experts warned that the situation continues to expose Nigeria to higher internet costs, slower digital services, and dependence on foreign infrastructure for critical online operations.

Speaking at the workshop, Managing Director of IXPN, Muhammed Rudman, described the figures as a wake-up call for stakeholders across the digital ecosystem.

He noted that Nigeria currently records only one Autonomous System Number (ASN) per one million people, compared to 13 in South Africa and 43 in Brazil, highlighting a significant infrastructure gap that must be urgently addressed.

According to Rudman, IXPN is playing a strategic role in keeping internet traffic within the country, reducing latency, lowering operational costs, and strengthening data security.

“By keeping local traffic local, IXPN is building the foundation for a faster, more connected and sovereign Nigeria,” he said.

He explained that local internet exchange infrastructure is increasingly supporting innovation across sectors such as fintech, edtech and e-commerce by improving network performance and reducing dependence on international routes.

Rudman disclosed that IXPN’s growth strategy includes expanding digital inclusion into underserved states, deploying advanced infrastructure capable of supporting multi-terabit traffic through 400G ports, and attracting more regional and global content providers to establish operations in Nigeria.

“Our vision remains to solidify Nigeria’s position as the premier digital powerhouse for Africa,” he added.

Also speaking, Chairman of TeleAfrica Communications Limited, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, stressed the importance of resilient interconnectivity infrastructure in achieving nationwide digital transformation.

Nnamani highlighted the role of TeleAfrica’s ABV1 Datacenter in Abuja, which serves as a critical bridge for telecommunications traffic between northern and southern Nigeria.

He said the company’s carrier-grade interconnect platform supports voice, data and video traffic across multiple network protocols while also addressing one of the telecommunications industry’s longstanding challenges, interconnect debt.

“While most interconnect operators focus only on transiting calls, TeleAfrica’s model provides complete financial settlement and reconciliation of interconnect traffic. This will significantly reduce interconnect indebtedness and ensure transparent, timely processing of charges across the industry,” he stated.

The workshop’s second day focused on technical capacity building, with participants receiving hands-on training on Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the technology that powers routinwg across the global internet.

Facilitated by network expert Mahdi Tajuddeen, the training covered Autonomous System Numbers, external and internal BGP operations, traffic engineering, routing policies and network optimisation techniques.

Participants described the workshop as timely and essential for strengthening Nigeria’s internet infrastructure capacity.

An IT Specialist and Network Engineer with IMBIL Telecom Solutions, Chukwudi Philip, commended IXPN and TeleAfrica for combining strategic industry dialogue with practical technical training.

“The technical depth of the BGP session reinforced the critical role routing policies play in ensuring efficient internet connectivity, scalability and network stability. The workshop provided immediate value for operators seeking to strengthen their networks,” he said.

Stakeholders at the event agreed that increasing local hosting capacity, expanding network infrastructure and developing technical expertise will be critical if Nigeria is to reduce digital dependence and emerge as a leading internet hub in Africa.