Experts and stakeholders in Tech has sounded the alarm on Nigeria’s readiness for Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption at the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) Breakfast with CEO’s forum which held in Lagos on Thursday 4th of December, 2025.
The consensus was clear: Nigeria’s data centre infrastructure is woefully inadequate to support the demands of AI, threatening the country’s aspirations to become a leader in the global AI race.
During an interactive session with members of NITRA, MD/CEO of Anambra State ICT Agency, Mr. Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata (CFA) emphasized the need for a 24hour data processing system that leverages favourable support for AI development in Nigeria. He stressed that We cannot talk about leadership in AI if we still rely on foreign infrastructures to train our own models
“We cannot play at the level we aspire to if we cannot even power the GPUs needed to train our language models,” he said.
He highlighted Anambra State’s cloud-first policy, which hosts its digital services with local providers such as Layer3 and Rack Centre to reduce dollar-denominated cloud spending and strengthen Nigeria’s digital backbone.
He disclosed that he got an executive council backing in Anambra to ensure that everybody went on. com.ng
However, CFA pointed to success stories like Optimus AI, a Nigerian team serving international clients, as proof that talent exists but warned that without investment in local capacity, innovation will continue to migrate offshore.“Technology is moving fast. If Nigeria must play in the future, we must invest in our people, our infrastructure and our digital sovereignty.”
Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, CEO of Digital Realty Nigeria, echoed Agbata’s concerns, stating that Nigeria’s existing data centres are not equipped to handle the high-density, liquid-cooled, GPU-driven environments required for modern AI applications. “There is no data centre in Nigeria today that is AI-ready,” Nnamani declared.
NITRA Highlights Nigeria’s Urgent Data Centre Gap for AI Growth
With over 300 active AI startups in Nigeria, the lack of suitable data centre infrastructure forces local companies to host their solutions abroad, compromising data sovereignty, local value creation, and national competitiveness. Nnamani warned that Nigeria risks deepening its dependence on foreign hosting, undermining its digital transformation ambitions.
The challenges facing Nigeria’s data centre industry are multifaceted. Power remains the most significant hurdle, with the cost of generating power for a 100-megawatt data centre estimated at $100 million. The national grid is not a viable option, and the cost of building a modern data centre ranges from $10 million to $50 million per megawatt.
Nnamani highlighted the stark reality: data centres in South Africa are bigger than all data centres in Nigeria combined, underscoring the country’s lack of volume and capacity for nationwide digital transformation. As Nigeria strives to join the global AI league, it must address its data centre gap and invest in the necessary infrastructure to support its AI ambitions.
The objective of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) is to promote ICT growth and development in Nigeria and the forum highlighted the need for investment in data centres to support AI growth and digital transformation.
Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads in its AI journey. To stay informed, join the conversation, and follow ongoing developments in the nation’s digital transformation landscape, visit LouisaOlaniyi.com.ng
