Key players in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem have expressed concern about the country’s increasing reliance on foreign digital infrastructure, with warnings that Nigeria loses an estimated $850 million every year through the use of foreign domains, offshore hosting services and non-indigenous digital platforms.
The concern was raised during the third edition of Tech Convergence organised by the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NiRA) in Abuja.
The theme of the conference was “Strengthening Nigeria’s Digital Independence: The Role of Policy, Digital Identity, and .ng for Economic Growth”. It brought together lawmakers, regulators, technology experts and industry players to discuss strategies to strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty.
The president of NiRA, Adesola Akinsanya, said the country’s economic and technological future depended on digital independence.
“Digital independence is not about isolating from the global internet, but building a secure, resilient and competitive digital ecosystem that gives Nigeria greater control over its data, infrastructure, digital identity systems and online presence,” he said.
The conference took an interesting turn when it was revealed that Nigeria loses about $850 million yearly by not maximising the benefits of its indigenous digital identity infrastructure.
Participants observed that continued dependence on foreign digital platforms leads to capital flight and further diminishes the country’s control over data of its citizens.
Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, described the matter as a matter of national security.
He compared the global struggles for technology and data control, stressing the need for Nigeria to take ownership of its digital assets.
We may have the Navy to secure our marine borders and the Air Force to secure our air space but our data is everywhere else. “We are a vulnerable people and that is why this conversation is extremely important,” he said.
She pointed out the .ng domain as one of the areas where Nigeria can exercise more control of its digital identity and online presence.
The conference was attended by key institutions such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and other public and private sector stakeholders.
The speakers also called for more local hosting of Nigerian data, saying it would boost accessibility, reduce latency, improve data protection and drive growth in local cloud and data centre investments.
NiRA unveiled the .ng Ambassador Programme, an initiative to build a network of advocates across government, industry, academia and civil society to deepen adoption of Nigeria’s country code domain.
The Chairperson, NiRA Board of Trustees, Dr Ibukun Odusote, said the programme will help drive awareness and adoption of Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure.
The development of the .ng ecosystem requires concerted efforts from both public and private sector stakeholders.
Lawmakers at the event also pledged support for legislative efforts to bolster the country’s digital economy, including ongoing efforts to strengthen cybersecurity and e-government frameworks.
Stakeholders agreed that the expansion of .ng domains, promotion of local hosting infrastructure and strengthening of digital identity systems would be critical to the attainment of Nigeria’s digital transformation goals and economic growth.
