The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, tells JUSTICE OKAMGBA in an interview that Nigeria’s data-localisation policy will spur investment in data centres, cloud services, cybersecurity, fibre connectivity and digital skills
What impact will the CBN’s directive for payment firms to host transaction data locally have on Nigeria’s digital infrastructure?
I believe this is much bigger than a regulatory directive. It is a strategic statement about where Nigeria wants to position itself in the digital economy.
Today, data is one of the world’s most valuable assets, and financial transaction data is among the most sensitive. Keeping that data within Nigeria strengthens our digital sovereignty, improves regulatory oversight and gives us greater control over infrastructure that is critical to our economy.
But beyond that, I see this as a catalyst for growth. Whenever you create demand for local hosting, you also create demand for world-class data centres, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity services, fibre connectivity and digital skills. That translates into investment, innovation and jobs.
