The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has outlined Nigeria’s strategy to attract increased investment into data centres and other critical digital infrastructure as the country’s digital economy continues to expand.
Inuwa made the disclosure while speaking on a high-level industry panel titled “Converting Digital Demand into Data Centre Investment” at the recently concluded ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026.
The panel brought together key industry stakeholders, including Ike Nnamani of Digital Realty Nigeria, Wole Abu of Equinix, Temitope Osunrinde of Africa Hyperscalers and Cherotich Kiereini of Oracle.
Inuwa said converting Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital demand into sustainable and bankable infrastructure investment requires a deliberate combination of clear government policies, regulatory certainty and secure digital ecosystems.
He identified policy clarity as a critical responsibility of government, stressing that investors need a stable and predictable framework that clearly defines the country’s strategic direction and provides confidence for long-term infrastructure deployment.
According to him, regulatory certainty would enable data centre operators and other technology investors to make informed decisions, knowing how digital infrastructure will be developed, governed and utilised within the Nigerian market.
Beyond its large population, Inuwa said Nigeria possesses significant strategic advantages that can position it as a major digital infrastructure hub for West and Central Africa.
He highlighted the increasing demand for localised digital workloads, the country’s geographical position as a connectivity and transit hub, as well as its growing pool of technology professionals capable of developing innovative solutions on modern digital networks.
The NITDA Director-General also stressed the importance of digital trust and cybersecurity in attracting and sustaining investment in critical digital infrastructure.
He pointed to initiatives including the Digital Assurance Framework, the Cybercrime Act and the broader National Cybersecurity Architecture as key components of Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen security across the digital ecosystem.
Inuwa explained that cybersecurity-by-design is increasingly being integrated into government technology projects, with measures extending from last-mile devices to critical national infrastructure.
He said the combination of predictable policies, stronger regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity standards and collaboration between government and industry would provide the foundation for the next generation of data centres, cloud services and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Nigeria.
The NITDA chief’s position underscored the growing recognition that Nigeria’s expanding digital economy must be matched by corresponding investment in the infrastructure required to store, process and securely deliver digital services.
