Nigeria’s Danfodiyo University Data Center Damaged In Storm

A university data center in Nigeria was damaged by a thunderstorm on August 15. Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto shut down network services after lightning damaged two inverters at its data center. The inverters have since been repaired, with services expected to resume on August 18.

Usmanu Danfodiyo University was established in 1975 as a public research university. Its data center is located on the main campus and operated by the ICT directorate, though details on its size and capacity are unavailable. Sokoto is not a major data center hub, with most of Nigeria’s facilities concentrated around Lagos. The Nigerian government is seeking private investment in cloud and data center infrastructure, targeting $250m over the next year and up to $750m longer term under its National Digital Cloud Policy.

“Nigeria must move from being primarily a consumer of global cloud infrastructure to becoming a competitive location for the infrastructure, investment, skills and digital services that will define the next phase of the global digital economy,” Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Bosun Tijani said in a statement.

“Our approach is deliberately open and investment-oriented. We want Nigerian and international providers to invest, build capacity, develop talent and serve both the Nigerian market and the wider African continent from Nigeria."