As Nigeria sets its sights on achieving a $1 trillion economy by the year 2030, a massive expansion of its digital infrastructure is urgently required. According to a leading industry expert, the nation needs to establish at least 72 edge data centres strategically located across the country to power this ambitious economic goal.
The Call for Decentralised Digital Power
This critical recommendation was made by Ikechukwu Nnamani, the Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty Nigeria. He shared his insights during a recent breakfast meeting with technology journalists in Lagos. Nnamani's proposal underscores an immediate need to decentralise and dramatically expand Nigeria's digital capacity beyond its current confines.
Currently, over 90% of the country's data infrastructure is concentrated in Lagos, a situation that serves only about 10% of the population. This leaves the vast majority of Nigerians with limited access to low-latency, high-speed digital services essential for a modern economy.
The Stark Reality of Nigeria's Data Centre Landscape
Industry checks reveal that Nigeria, despite being Africa's largest ICT market, has between 16 and 22 operational data centre facilities. A staggering 19 of these are located in Lagos, with just three in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The total capacity is estimated to be around 30 megawatts currently, though some projections see it rising to 56.1MW by 2025.
Nnamani pointed out a shocking comparison: it is often cheaper to transmit data between Nigeria and London than between Lagos and Abuja. This highlights the severe gap in domestic regional connectivity. He noted that cities in developed economies can host over 30 data centres each, putting Nigeria far behind in the global digital race.
"Lagos houses most of the country's data infrastructure, yet this represents only 10 per cent of Nigeria's true digital capacity," Nnamani stated. "To compete globally and support real-time data processing and service delivery across all state capitals, we need a minimum of 72 edge data centres."
Powering AI and the Future Economy
Edge data centres are smaller facilities located closer to end-users. They are crucial for reducing latency, which is the delay in data transfer. This is vital for real-time applications like:
- E-commerce platforms
- Digital finance and FinTech services
- Emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nnamani raised a significant concern, stating that Nigeria currently lacks an AI-ready data centre. This type of infrastructure is critical to powering the future economy as new technologies evolve. "We hope that in about three years from now, we will be able to say we have AI-ready data centres. Players in the industry are working on that," he revealed.
On the financial side, building these centres requires substantial investment. Nnamani estimated that constructing a lower-end data centre could cost about $10 million, while high-end facilities could reach $15 million each.
Challenges and the Path Forward
The expert identified the unreliable power supply as the greatest challenge to running efficient data centres in Nigeria. He disclosed that operators are already investing individually up to N100 million to bridge the electricity gap from the national grid, often by building dedicated power plants.
For the data centre segment to grow and support the trillion-dollar economy vision, Nnamani submitted that the country must focus on:
- Expanding transmission networks
- Boosting local content creation
- Implementing supportive national policies
He concluded by framing the issue as a matter of national importance. Building an expansive data centre network should be seen not just as an infrastructure project, but as a fundamental step towards digital sovereignty. This move would enable data localisation, drastically improve service delivery nationwide, and unlock Nigeria's full potential for digital innovation and job creation for its citizens.
