The federal government, chiefly through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has placed technology at the centre of Nigeria's economic agenda. Recent policy moves such as the Digital Start‑Up Act, Idea Hatch, 3MTT, D4LL and the National Digital Leadership Programme illustrate a concerted push to nurture talent, fund startups and link innovators to markets.
These programmes, while ambitious, have reinforced a pattern where startups seek direction and financing from federal bodies rather than from local markets or regional networks. Kashifu Inuwa has warned that the current model leans toward control and urges a shift toward partnership and enablement.
Inuwa's remarks highlight a structural gap: participation at the sub‑national level remains limited. He cites a rural farmer in Kebbi who gained productivity through digital tools, showing how targeted, locally‑designed interventions can spark broader gains.
State governments vary in their response. Some have launched tech hubs and training schemes, yet many lack clear digital strategies, risking a widening divide between urban tech centres and peripheral regions. Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani has pointed to expanding fibre, telecom towers and satellite capacity as a solid foundation, but stresses that infrastructure alone will not deliver impact without localized adoption.
True transformation will require each state to treat technology as a core element of its own economic plan, adapting federal frameworks to local realities and fostering multiple centres of innovation across the country.
Kashifu Inuwa's appeal for partnership exposes the core flaw in Nigeria's digital agenda: it remains too centred on federal control. By positioning NITDA as the primary driver, the system encourages startups to chase grants rather than market fit.
The concentration of programmes such as the Digital Start‑Up Act and Idea Hatch under a single agency has created a dependency culture, where innovators look upward for validation. This dynamic is amplified by the uneven rollout of state‑level digital strategies, leaving regions like Kebbi able to benefit from isolated interventions while states such as Ogun or Enugu lag behind.
For ordinary entrepreneurs and small‑scale producers, the bias toward federal schemes means limited access to resources that reflect local challenges. Farmers in Kebbi may reap gains from digital tools, but without state‑run hubs or training, peers in less‑served areas risk being excluded from the digital economy.
The pattern mirrors a broader trend in Nigeria where centralised policy often eclipses regional initiative. If states begin to customise federal frameworks to their unique contexts, the country could move from a single‑track, grant‑focused model to a diversified ecosystem that fuels sustainable, market‑driven growth.
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