Nigeria’s Data-Localisation Drive Needs Cloud Platforms, Not Just Data Centres

Nigeria’s push to keep payment data on local infrastructure will depend on more than building additional data centres. It will also require cloud platforms that allow businesses to access computing resources on demand, according to an explainer by cloud and infrastructure architect Remi Adejumo.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has reportedly directed that payment data be kept on local infrastructure by 1 January 2027. The requirement has increased attention on the country’s digital infrastructure, including the difference between facilities that house technology and platforms that deliver computing services.

Infrastructure versus service

A data centre is a physical facility containing servers, storage, networking equipment and supporting systems. A cloud platform, by contrast, is a service that provides computing power, storage and networking when customers need them.

“A data centre is a building,” Adejumo writes. “A cloud platform is a service.”

Companies that place their own servers in another organisation’s facility are using colocation. However, a virtualised system installed in a rented space does not automatically qualify as cloud computing. A cloud service also requires features such as self-service access, automation, rapid scaling and metered usage.

Adejumo compares the distinction to the relationship between an airport and an airline: “Owning an airport does not make you an airline.” In the same way, every cloud platform operates inside a data centre, but most data centres do not provide a cloud platform.

Reliability and capacity

The Uptime Institute’s reliability framework has four levels, from Tier I to Tier IV. Tier I has no backup equipment, while Tier II adds spare equipment but retains a single power and cooling path. Tier III provides multiple paths and allows maintenance without shutting down operations. Tier IV is designed to withstand any single failure.

Adejumo cautions that a facility described as “built to Tier III standards” is not necessarily Tier III certified. Customers are advised to check the certification held by the provider.

Industry estimates cited in the explainer put Nigeria’s operational data-centre count at around 26, rising to about 28 when facilities under construction are included. Capacity is expected to reach between 210 MW and 300 MW by 2030.

MTN reportedly launched cloud services alongside a new Tier III data centre in Lagos in 2025. Rack Centre, which opened in Ikeja in 2013, is reported to have been the first facility in Nigeria and West Africa to receive Uptime Institute Tier III design certification.

Rack Centre says it operates entirely off-grid using a 13.5 MW gas-powered system and has recorded 100 per cent uptime since 2013. Adejumo also says that, based on his experience, leading Nigerian data-centre operators have not lost a minute of service because of a power failure. He distinguishes that reliability record from the cost of generating electricity, which can still affect operating expenses and prices.

Cloud availability remains limited

The explainer says Nigerian organisations may describe data as being “in the cloud” even when it is hosted outside the country. Amazon has a Local Zone in Lagos, but not a full cloud region there. The nearest full regions for Microsoft, Google and Oracle are in South Africa, according to the report.

Amazon, Microsoft and Google accounted for about 63 per cent of global cloud infrastructure spending in the second quarter of 2026, when total customer spending reached US$143.4 billion, the source says.

The figures highlight the scale of the global cloud market, while Nigeria’s localisation requirement raises a separate question: whether local infrastructure can be paired with platforms offering the convenience and flexibility businesses expect from cloud services.

“Do we have enough data centres?” Adejumo asks. “Do we have cloud platforms to make them useful?” His conclusion is that Nigeria has a strong and professionally operated data-centre foundation, but must develop cloud platforms on top of it.