*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, highlights how Nigeria鈥檚 digital ambition focuses on designing and building a new societal fabric, and fresh economic operating system honed on inclusivity, resilience, security, and digital prosperity for consumers in the country 聽

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

Nigeria is currently charting an ambitious path towards a sustainable digital future anchored on innovation, inclusivity, and resilience.

The move is said to be in line with a vision underlining the core of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu鈥檚 Renewed Hope Agenda, which focuses on reforming the Nigerian economy for sustainable growth, enhancing infrastructure, accelerating diversification through digitalisation and innovation, and strengthening governance for efficient service delivery to the citizenry.

绿帽献妻 reports Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), emphasised this much in a keynote address delivered at the NORDIC Nigeria Connect 2025, held in Lagos.

MTN’s network disruptions, digital connectivity and consumer experience in Nigeria

Inuwa, who spoke on the theme: 鈥淣igeria鈥檚 Digital Infrastructure Ambition and Path to Sustainability鈥�, stated that Nigeria鈥檚 digital ambition transcends the physical construction of data centres, or the laying of fiber-optic cables.

The Director-General of NITDA also averred that sustainable digital future is about designing and building a new societal fabric, and fresh economic operating system for Nigerian consumers, founded on inclusivity, resilience, security, and digital prosperity.

The NITDA Chief Executive further explained that the country鈥檚 digital vision rests on two key components.

He said these are: Shared Digital Backbone and the Operational Backbone. The Shared Digital Backbone represents the hardware layer, including terrestrial fiber optics, subsea cables, green data centres, and sovereign cloud services that secure Nigeria鈥檚 data and ensure digital sovereignty.

The Operational Backbone, which forms the software layer, refers to Nigeria鈥檚 Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), is a suite of interoperable systems that include digital identity, payment frameworks, and secure data exchange platforms.

The Information Technology (IT) sector regulatory agency said collectively, they create a unified national digital ecosystem that empowers startups to develop homegrown solutions tailored to Nigeria鈥檚 unique socio-economic context.

Referencing the recent global cloud outage experienced by Amazon Web Services (AWS), which disrupted digital operations across several economies on the African continent, Inuwa stressed the importance of digital independence.

The Director-General stated: 鈥淭his incident reminds us that relying solely on foreign cloud regions does not ensure business continuity or digital independence.

鈥淲e must build the capacity for digital self-determination.鈥�

Innuwa asserted that achieving Nigeria鈥檚 digital ambition requires more than technology, emphasising this demands 鈥渟trong, forward-looking policies鈥� that encourage innovation while safeguarding consumers.

How Nigeria builds self-sustaining talent engine, by Inuwa

Outlining Nigeria鈥檚 path to sustainability, he identified three foundational pillars: Policy, People, and Partnerships.

Under the Policy Pillar, the Chief Executive of NITDA explained that Nigeria is building a predictable, pro-innovation regulatory environment that fosters growth and investor confidence.

Through the Nigeria Startup Act and Data Protection Act, the government has laid the groundwork for a stable digital market that safeguards rights while encouraging innovation.

Expatiating on the People Pillar, Inuwa noted that no infrastructure could thrive without the human talent to sustain it.

According to him, through the National Digital Literacy Framework and the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Programme, Nigeria is building a self-sustaining talent engine that empowers citizens to design, innovate, and drive the country鈥檚 digital future.

Under the Partnership Pillar, Inuwa reiterated the need for strategic collaboration with global partners. He highlighted that Nigeria is moving from ad-hoc relationships to structured partnerships that promote joint ventures, attract investment, and co-develop technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

He revealed several major projects that are transforming this ambition into action. On infrastructure, the Project BRIDGE initiative is expanding Nigeria鈥檚 terrestrial fibre network to 125,000 kilometres through public-private partnerships, while the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative is fostering a competitive data storage ecosystem within Nigerian jurisdiction.

On the software side, the Nigeria Stack is driving nationwide digital identity, payments, and data exchange systems, while the OneGOV platform will unify all government services under a single digital window, the agency stated.

Inuwa, in his address, equally cited the agency鈥檚 ongoing efforts at the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), which is leading applied AI innovation through initiatives, such as the AI Collective and N-ATLAS, Nigeria鈥檚 indigenous large language model project.

He, therefore, urged greater collaboration within Nigeria鈥檚 digital ecosystem and stronger international partnerships, and particularly identified the NORDIC region as a key ally in Nigeria鈥檚 digital journey.

Inuwa disclosed exciting opportunities to leverage NORDIC expertise in technology and innovation while offering Nigeria鈥檚 vast talent pool and creative potential in return.

The NITDA Chief restated that Nigeria鈥檚 digital transformation rests on three foundational pillars, as robust digital infrastructure, human capital development, and strategic partnerships.

He asserted: 鈥淲ith clear vision, deliberate strategy, and inclusive policy frameworks, we are confident that Nigeria will not only achieve digital sustainability 鈥� we will lead Africa鈥檚 digital transformation.鈥�

Kindly Share This Story