By Juliet Umeh
Nigeria once again positioned itself at the heart of Africa’s digital transformation conversation as the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, pushed for digital sovereignty and stronger regional collaboration at the 18th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, ICEGOV 2025, held in Abuja.
At the three high-level events- ICEGOV 2025, the West African Digital Governance Forum, WADGov, and the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, E-Governance Expert Meeting, Inuwa championed Africa’s right to own and govern its digital future.
He said: “Digital is not an accessory to development; it is its backbone. Africa’s digital sovereignty must rest on systems that protect our data, empower our people, and strengthen our capacity to innovate locally and compete globally.”
With over 50 countries represented, the conference explored how governance, data, and innovation intersect to shape the continent’s future.
Inuwa highlighted a key gap: despite housing nearly 18 percent of the global population, Africa contributes less than 1 percent to global data center capacity, a weakness he believes undermines digital independence.
He stressed that data sovereignty cannot exist without local infrastructure. Strengthening local cloud capacity, promoting regional interconnection, and encouraging domestic data hosting, he said, are crucial steps to ensure Africa controls its digital narrative.
At the West African Digital Governance Forum, Inuwa urged member states to adopt shared frameworks aligned with the African Union Digital Transformation Strategy (2020–2030), while calling for interoperable systems and open ecosystems that foster inclusion rather than fragmentation.
He noted: “When our services interconnect, our nations progress together. The real power of digital governance lies not in competition, but in cooperation.”
Beyond the rhetoric, NITDA showcased tangible achievements, from Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure, DPI, initiatives spanning identity, payments, and data exchange, to the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, which formalises digital trust.
Through initiatives like 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) and Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL), the Agency continues to embed inclusivity into the nation’s tech evolution.
As ICEGOV 2025 concluded, Inuwa’s message was clear: Africa’s digital future will be co-created, not imported.
He said: “When we connect our systems and our hearts, we can deliver a generation-defining transformation in governance, one that citizens can see, feel, and trust.”
