This was the message of GITEX Nigeria 2026, held from August 31 to September 3 in Abuja and Lagos under the theme “Beyond Connectivity: The Bridge to Sovereign AI and Innovation”. At the Abuja opening on September 1, NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi said true digital sovereignty means owning the capabilities, infrastructure and intelligence that power the country’s future, with policy, cloud infrastructure and regulatory frameworks to host data locally and deploy AI responsibly. More than 200 investors from 30 countries, managing about $200 billion in assets, were expected at the Lagos leg.

Policy has started to follow the rhetoric. On August 18, Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani announced the National Digital Cloud Policy, which uses government purchasing power to encourage local cloud infrastructure and targets $750 million of investment over 24 months. On September 10 in Nairobi, Mr. Inuwa explained the logic: rules can create demand, and a Central Bank of Nigeria requirement that certain financial data be processed inside Nigeria creates a market for local data centres. At the “Hire from Nigeria” session at the UN General Assembly on September 30, he said Nigeria wants to be known for higher-value, AI-powered digital work rather than only call-centre outsourcing.

The same day the cloud policy was announced, the Minister said the Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System would go live on October 1, giving every home, business and public building a unique digital address to help e-commerce delivery and security. Reports on October 1 indicate it has been launched.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is supporting work on AI-ready data centres in Nigeria. Reports note, however, that Nigeria still needs more reliable electricity and stronger internet cables before those data centres can support heavy AI computing.