Alarm as Experts Reveal $850m Yearly Loss in Digital Earnings

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.
President of NiRA, Adesola Akinsanya, said digital independence was key to the country’s economic and technological future.

“Digital independence does not mean isolating from the global internet, but rather 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 a very interesting turn when it was revealed Nigeria loses about $850 million yearly by not maximising the benefits of its indigenous digital identity infrastructure.
Participants noted that ongoing reliance on foreign digital platforms not only results in capital flight, but also erodes the country’s control over its citizens’ data.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, described the matter as a matter of national security.
He compared the global fights over technology and data control and emphasized the importance of Nigeria taking 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 anywhere else. “We are a vulnerable people and that is why this conversation is extremely important,” he said.

The legislator highlighted the .ng domain as one area where Nigeria could exert more control over 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 pushed 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.

She said the development of the .ng ecosystem necessitates collective efforts from both the public and private sector stakeholders.

Lawmakers at the event also pledged support for legislative efforts to strengthen 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.