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By Chinenye Anuforo
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To bolster Nigeria’s control over its digital future, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a Technical Working Group (TWG) to spearhead policies that enhance digital sovereignty via a national cloud infrastructure framework.
The team is a formidable alliance of industry leaders, including Google, AWS, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Huawei Cloud, Equinix, Kasi, Rack Centre and Africa Data Centres, alongside other key data centre operators and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
With a mandate to strengthen Nigeria’s cloud ecosystem, the group will drive initiatives to improve data accuracy, position Nigeria as a leading technology hub in Africa, reinforce regulatory frameworks and attract strategic investments, which ultimately paves the way for a more secure, efficient and resilient digital infrastructure.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Monday, NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, emphasised the need for accurate data and regulatory frameworks to support these initiatives, necessary for Nigeria to control its digital infrastructure, data, and technological future, noting that, “Without this foundation, we cannot achieve true digital sovereignty. Our goal is to build an ecosystem where both local data centre providers can scale, and global hyper-scalers see Nigeria as a viable investment destination.”
While identifying the lack of accurate data on Nigeria’s IT infrastructure as a significant challenge, Inuwa noted that while Africa comprises nearly 19% of the world’s population, it hosts less than 1% of global data centres. “This disparity, coupled with limited insights into Nigeria’s existing IT capacity, hampers investment efforts and without clear data on our infrastructure, attracting investment becomes challenging,” he said.
The NITDA boss maintained that, to address this, NITDA commissioned comprehensive research to assess Nigeria’s digital landscape, which findings have highlighted the need for improved regulatory frameworks, clearer investment incentives, and stronger public-private collaboration.
He added that subsequently upon this, NITDA has engaged global consultants to redefine strategies for cloud development.
As the TWG embarks on its mission, NITDA urged industry experts, policymakers and stakeholders to contribute their expertise and resources.
“With collective effort, Nigeria can emerge as the premier digital hub for West and Central Africa,” Inuwa concluded.
Corroborating the Director General, the acting Director, Regulation and Compliance, Emmanuel Edet, highlighted the importance of regulatory intervention in fostering a robust digital economy.
“Our objective is to establish policies and legal frameworks that support cloud development, enabling us to securely host and manage our data. This is crucial for the growth of our digital economy,” he said.
He also highlighted the necessity of capacity building, stating that, “Equipping ourselves with top-tier training and expertise is essential to fully leverage digital technologies.”
Edet called on all stakeholders to actively participate in shaping Nigeria’s digital future. “Collaboratively, we must develop a framework that reflects our national interests, and it should be widely accepted. This effort will define Nigeria’s role in the global digital arena,” he observed.
The TWG will help in the drive to attract hyperscale investments and enhance local cloud capabilities by proffering measures to encourage the use of accurate data, recommend the enactment and compliance to enabling policies.
Members of the TWG expressed support and readiness to volunteer and contribute required resources to ensure the mission is accomplished.
