The Lagos State Government has commended Huawei, a global tech giant operating in Nigeria for investing and establishing a local cloud in Nigeria, saying the gesture will secure data sovereignty of the country.
Speaking at the unveiling of the cloud in Lagos on Tuesday, the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat said the gesture would further enhance the digital economy of the country and complement the digital development initiative of the Lagos State.
He described the investment in the local cloud by Huawei as a very impressive one as he charged other companies to emulate the gesture.
He said the development will solve the data sovereignty issue in Nigeria, noting that Nigeria’s data will no longer be hosted in foreign countries, saying having a local cloud is a blessing to the country.
“We must really appreciate Huawei. This development enhances data stability and promotes local innovation to compete globally. The commitment of Huawei is good.
‘This is very impressive. I’m just excited that they are taking more sales to do this investment. I encourage all of us to embrace more ideas, share innovation, and innovative solutions, and find partnerships that will shift technology in our country, it is a catalyst for transformation and a vehicle for progress.
“Let us take commitment to supporting initiative and great opportunities for our country, together we certainly can harvest the power of the community to build a management for all regions.
“Let me extend my attitude to the organizer, partners and participants whose efforts have made this possible. The insight and reinvention that emerged from today’s conversation set a transformative course for Nigeria.
“Now, the cloud reflects the explanation of a country like a journey with a growing technology industry. It speaks to our severe determination to overcome infrastructure challenges and bring digital transformation as a key player in a global digital economy.
“Of course, in Lagos, we have already been able to witness this transformative impact of technology for small startups to establish. Data solutions are accelerating economic growth, creating jobs, shaping up the work.”
Also speaking, the Director General and CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, described the investment in the local cloud as another milestone in the technology history of Nigeria.
Inuwa, who was represented by the Ag. Director, Regulation & Compliance at NITDA, Barr. Emmanuel Edit noted that the launching of the Nigeria Local Cloud was a landmark and digital movement for Nigeria “as we collectively embrace the transformative potential of cloud, computing to drive innovation, foster economic growth and enhance digital transformation across every sector of our economy.”
He said: “It is clear that data increasingly shapes business and most activities across the world. According to Statista, revenue from the cloud market is expected to reach 828 million US dollars in Nigeria this year, about 27.3% between now and 2019. This means the market volume will be almost 2.7 million US dollars by 2029.
‘This reminds us of the immense potential that cloud computing modes of our great nation, Nigeria, it is not merely a technological advancement, but a catalyst for change that can empower businesses, enhance government services, and improve the quality of life for all Nigerians. It also offers us the ability to still rapidly innovate continuously, and compete globally.
“However, as we embrace this technology, it is important that we have conversations around aligning our digital strategies to local interest, building a robust infrastructure that reflects Nigeria’s unique needs, aspirations amongst other things, indeed, that we advocate for digital sovereignty. This is because ensuring the ownership control and security of our digital resources is not just a technological imprint.
“It is a matter of national importance and fundamental to building a resilient digital economy driven by the robust legal routine that drives indigenous Nigeria has huge potential for cloud infrastructure.
“We are strategically limited in West, Central Africa with large kilometres this far, with support from the company with convenience in rapidly expanding digital economy, thus making us a favourable destination for infrastructure investment.
“As we continue to deliberate on solutions, let us also recognise the role of collaboration. Together we can craft policies, invest in local capabilities and foster partnerships that will ensure Nigeria’s leadership in the cloud ecosystem, not just regionally, but globally.
“I understand that 25 years of being a contributor to Nigeria’s digital journey so far, I would say they have grown up with Nigeria as we step into yet partnership with Nigeria through investment in cloud computing. No doubt they have been at the forefront of the growth of renewable in our country.
“We encourage other technology companies to explore partnerships and opportunities within Nigeria, I will not fail to mention our Lagos state government, which has been adopting innovation and also hosting one technology ecosystem. Thank you very much.”
In his welcome address, the CEO, Huawei Nigeria, Chris Lu acknowledged the opportunity given to the company by the Nigerian government to grow, saying the company was able to invest in the local cloud with the support of the government.
He also appreciated the effort of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani in the development of the initiative, saying the country supports digital innovation.
He said: “We are building our local cloud in Nigeria, and I think there are three important aspects. The first one is performance. Having a local cloud means we can provide our customers with a much better performance in terms of latency, you experience less than 15 milliseconds unlike if you are using cloud service from Ireland or other markets, which is more than one to 20 milliseconds. So, this ultra-performance is one thing that we are bringing to the market. The second one is about trust.
“As I mentioned in my speech today, having your own data in Nigeria, in Lagos provides a lot of confidence and trust for our customers, also provides a lot of trust for the government, for the regulators who believe it’s important for the entrepreneurs to have their own company’s data, have their own consumers data in Nigeria, this is about data sovereignty.
“The third one is about commitment. Building a local cloud means we’re operating locally in the long term, because Huawei has been here for 25 years, we’re going to be staying here for another 25 years, and operating our own local cloud is a strong commitment, showing Huawei is willing to develop an ecosystem with all our local partners together for the future.
“I would say Huawei sees a huge potential in the Nigerian market, not only because of the vast majority of the population, and all the advanced developers, but also the fast-growing digital economy. Also, I see great talents in Nigeria with a lot of young talents that are so professional, and efficient, and that’s why we strongly believe in the opportunity.
“In terms of challenges, I would say the infrastructures are still in the way of growing. That’s also the reason why we are supporting and we are committed to growing and building more infrastructure in order to support the boosting development of the digital economy of Nigeria.”
