The Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty Nigeria, Engr. Ike Nnamani, has said that Nigeria is still several years away from deploying data centres capable of handling advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads, even as the country’s AI market continues to evolve rapidly.
Speaking at the CEO Breakfast Roundtable hosted by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA), Nnamani noted that while existing data centres can support basic cloud operations, none currently meet the requirements for high-density, AI-grade computing.
“What we have today are facilities built for cloud services. But for true AI workloads, no data centre in Nigeria was originally designed for that,” he said.
AI Adoption Rising Faster Than Nigeria’s Data Centre Capacity
According to Nnamani, Nigeria’s AI scene is expanding quickly, with more than 300 members of a local AI association creating solutions using global AI technologies.
However, he stressed that running deep learning models, LLMs, and high-performance inference systems requires specialised infrastructure that local facilities do not yet provide. These include:
- High-density racks
- Advanced cooling systems (such as liquid cooling)
- Strong and redundant power infrastructure
- Purpose-built architecture for AI computation
“The real question is: who will build AI-ready data centres, and which organisations have the expertise and capital to deliver them?” Nnamani stated.
International Operators Key to Building Nigeria’s AI Infrastructure
Nnamani emphasised that Nigeria will rely significantly on global data centre leaders with proven experience in high-performance computing (HPC) to build AI-enabled facilities.
“This is where companies like Digital Realty come in. They already operate AI-ready environments globally, and crucially, they have the financial strength to implement such projects,” he explained.
He added that while Nigeria must localise AI processing just as it successfully localised data hosting, the country needs new facilities designed specifically for AI workloads.
For now, he said, major AI deployments will continue to depend on overseas infrastructure, as Nigeria is likely 2–3 years away from true AI capability.
South Africa Currently Leads Africa in AI-Optimised Data Centres
Nnamani cited Teraco, Digital Realty’s subsidiary in South Africa, as an example of what AI-ready infrastructure looks like. The firm recently launched a large-scale facility equipped with liquid cooling and high-density compute capacity.
“One of their data centres has more IT load than all Nigerian data centres put together,” he said, illustrating the continent-wide gap.
He added that Digital Realty is already exploring the development of bigger hyperscale facilities in Nigeria as demand grows.
Policy Direction Strong, but Funding Gaps Threaten Progress
Although infrastructure remains a bottleneck, the Nigerian government, led by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, is pushing an ambitious national AI programme.
A recent report titled ‘State of AI Policy in Africa 2025’ highlights Nigeria as the top AI adopter in West Africa, though it cautions that insufficient funding could slow momentum unless domestic investment rises sharply.
