By Saminu Ibrahim
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has outlined Nigeria’s strategy to attract the next wave of investments in data centres, cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Inuwa said the country must convert its rapidly growing digital demand into bankable and sustainable investments through a combination of clear government policies, regulatory certainty and a secure digital ecosystem.
SINL Nigeria Online reports that he spoke at a high-level industry panel on “Converting Digital Demand into Data Centre Investment” at the recently concluded ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026.
The panel also featured Ike Nnamani of Digital Realty Nigeria, Wole Abu of Equinix, Temitope Osunrinde of Africa Hyperscalers and Cherotich Kiereini of Oracle.
According to Inuwa, government’s primary responsibility is to provide clear policy direction and establish a stable regulatory framework that gives investors confidence to commit capital to digital infrastructure.
He said regulatory certainty would enable operators to understand how digital infrastructure would be deployed, governed and utilised across the Nigerian market.
The NITDA boss said Nigeria’s investment potential goes beyond its large population, stressing that the country’s growing demand for localised digital workloads and its strategic geographical position give it a competitive advantage.
He identified Nigeria’s potential to serve as a major transit and connectivity hub for West and Central Africa, supported by its growing pool of technology talent capable of developing innovative solutions on modern digital networks.
Inuwa further said NITDA was placing digital trust at the centre of the country’s digital transformation through stronger cybersecurity measures.
He cited the Digital Assurance Framework, Cybercrime Act and the National Cybersecurity Architecture as key initiatives aimed at strengthening security across the digital ecosystem.
He explained that cybersecurity was being integrated into digital infrastructure from the last-mile device level to critical national infrastructure.
According to him, government information technology projects are increasingly subjected to cybersecurity-by-design clearances to ensure that security is incorporated from the outset rather than treated as an afterthought.
Inuwa said the combination of predictable policies, strong security standards, digital demand and strategic connectivity would provide the foundation for Nigeria to host the next generation of data centres, cloud services and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Africa.
