Nigeria links digital identity ambitions to digital sovereignty agenda

Nigeria is increasingly framing digital identity, data infrastructure and online services as matters of digital sovereignty, as the country seeks to reduce reliance on foreign platforms and extract greater economic value from its growing digital economy.

Officials and industry leaders argue that greater control over digital infrastructure, data hosting and identity systems is essential to economic growth, citing estimates that Nigeria loses an estimated $850 million annually through dependence on foreign digital services, external data hosting and other high-value digital services.

The shift comes as Nigeria builds Africa’s largest digital identity system, with more than 130 million people enrolled, and turns its attention from enrollment to the practical use of digital credentials across government and private-sector services.

Despite the rapid expansion of its digital identity program, adoption of digital credentials and locally hosted digital services remains relatively low, raising concerns about the country’s ability to capture the full economic value of its digital transformation efforts.

Adesola Akinsanya, president of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), argues that digital sovereignty should not be viewed as isolation from the global internet, but as the development of a secure and resilient digital ecosystem that gives Nigeria greater control over its data, infrastructure and digital identity systems.

Senator Shuaib Salisu, chair of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, has similarly argued that digital public infrastructure should be treated as critical national infrastructure, reflecting a growing view among policymakers that identity systems, data exchanges and other DPI components are strategic national assets.

The emphasis on digital sovereignty mirrors a broader trend across Africa, where governments are increasingly linking digital identity, digital public infrastructure and economic development. In the Sahel, for example, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have launched regional biometric identity and travel document initiatives as part of wider efforts to strengthen regional autonomy and control over critical infrastructure.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital identity  |  digital public infrastructure  |  digital sovereignty  |  Nigeria