Nigeria may be experiencing a surge of interest in artificial intelligence, but the country remains far from having the data centre infrastructure required to run the most advanced AI systems. This is the assessment of Engr. Ike Nnamani, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty Nigeria, who spoke at the CEO Breakfast Roundtable hosted by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association.

According to Nnamani, existing facilities in the country can comfortably support cloud hosting and general enterprise workloads. However, none are equipped to power the type of high-density computing needed for training or deploying modern AI models.

Nigeria’s AI usage rising, but facilities lag behind

Nnamani explained that Nigeria’s AI ecosystem is expanding quickly, with more than 300 practitioners and companies affiliated with a local AI association. Many are building or selling AI tools, while others rely on global platforms to run their systems.

Meanwhile, he noted that running compute-intensive applications such as large language models, deep learning clusters, or advanced inference engines requires a completely different tier of infrastructure. These systems demand specialised cooling, stable high-capacity power, and data centres built from the ground up to support dense racks and accelerated computing.

“The real question is how Nigeria plans to develop AI-enabled data centres and who has both the expertise and the financial strength to deliver them,” he said.

Global experience needed to close the gap

Nnamani suggested that progress will depend largely on international operators with long experience deploying high-performance computing environments. According to him, companies like Digital Realty have already rolled out AI-ready infrastructure in several countries and have the resources to replicate similar facilities in Nigeria.

He added that while the country has encouraged local data hosting, the next phase will involve localising AI compute. Achieving that, in his view, will require new facilities designed specifically to support AI workloads. He estimated that Nigeria is still two to three years away from reaching this level of readiness. Until then, advanced AI applications will remain dependent on infrastructure hosted abroad.

South Africa ahead in the race

Nnamani pointed to South Africa as an example of what is technically possible on the continent. He referenced Teraco, Digital Realty’s South African subsidiary, which operates one of the region’s most advanced AI-ready facilities equipped with liquid cooling and high-density capacity.

“One of their facilities is larger than all existing data centres in Nigeria combined when measured by IT load,” he said, noting the clear difference in scale.

He added that Digital Realty plans to expand its footprint in Nigeria and is preparing for future developments that include significantly larger hyperscale centres.

Government ambitions face funding hurdles

While infrastructure remains behind, the Nigerian government has been vocal about its commitment to accelerating AI adoption. The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has repeatedly emphasised AI as a national priority.

However, a he warns that Nigeria’s ambitions may be constrained by limited funding. According to the report, Nigeria leads West Africa in AI policy development and usage, but momentum could decline if domestic investment does not increase.

Reports say Nigeria’s challenge is not interest, but capability. The country’s digital economy continues to grow, and demand for AI-powered services is rising. Even so, building the specialised infrastructure needed for next-generation AI will require long-term planning, substantial capital, and collaboration with global operators. Until then, Nigeria is likely to continue relying on offshore facilities to run its most advanced AI workloads.