Data localization is any policy or legal requirement mandating that data created within a country’s borders must remain stored and processed within that country.
Should Nigeria take steps to ensure that citizen data created within the country remains in the country?
For those of you who are familiar with Nigeria’s technology policy, you may already be aware that Data Localization is not entirely new to the country. Nigeria already mandates the localization of sovereign data (i.e data generated, owned, or controlled by the Nigerian government) like the Bank Verification Number (BVN), National Identification Number (NIN), and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
What of the overwhelming data generated by Nigerians’ reliance on foreign digital infrastructure for things like social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) or video conferencing (Zoom, Google Meets, etc)?
Many countries have recognized that data and infrastructural sovereignty will be the central determinators of the future. The United Arab Emirates is collaborating with OpenAI on Stargate UAE, a data center campus in Abu Dhabi designed to support the development and deployment of localized Emirati large language models. Saudi Arabia has created a state backed firm, HUMAIN, to develop domestic artificial intelligence research and infrastructure. In the United Kingdom (UK), the government (in alignment with its UK AI Action Plan to increase AI capabilities and infrastructure) has signed MOUs with Anthropic AI and OpenAI, while also pursuing domestic AI infrastructure through Stargate UK. Just last week, the French government announced that public officials will no longer use American-owned digital software (like Zoom/ Google) for video conferencing, instead opting for undisclosed French alternatives.
Essentially, across the world, states are seeking ways to localize data, to bring processing capacity back to national borders, and to retain greater control over their digital future, their economies and, in many ways, their political systems.
Nigeria, by contrast, occupies a different position. Millions of Nigerians generate data every day through their engagement with foreign digital platforms such as Meta and TikTok, yet the economic value derived from this data does not benefit Nigerians.
This imbalance has implications for democracy. If political communication, election discourse, and civic mobilisation increasingly occur on platforms Nigeria does not control, then, it is possible that foreign corporate decisions can shape public opinion without accountability. This is not only a matter of national security but also a problem for democracy in Nigeria.
Our Nigerian leaders recognize these contradictions. So, in September 2025, the department of communications released an early-stage large language model (LLM) called N-ATLAS, a localised LLM that will also utilize Nigeria’s major indigenous languages (pidgin, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa). Regardless, N-ATLAS is still in its early stages and operates at a scale far smaller than global AI models controlled by Meta (grok), Google (Gemini), and OpenAI (Chat GPT) who continue to siphon huge amounts of value from Nigerian data.
A political agenda towards Data Localization is definitely one way to achieve data sovereignty. Should Nigeria be successful, producing and deploying AI systems, at a domestic level, there will be ramifications not only for the new value that will be generated within the country, spurring economic growth, but also at a national security level, it could limit the ability of foreign agents to interfere in important political processes.
Regardless, is this the most effective strategy right now? Building domestic cloud technology and AI infrastructure may be part of the solution, but it may not be what Nigeria needs right now. In the next post, we will look at the lingering regulatory gaps that might make enforcement of a data localization agenda difficult.