By Juliet Umeh

The Nigerian Senate, the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, and the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, have joined a broad coalition of stakeholders to call for the urgent and comprehensive implementation of .ng domain adoption to promote and solidify Nigeria’s digital identity.

This was the driving force behind Tech Convergence 2.0, a high-level event organized by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association, NiRA, in Abuja.

The gathering brought together policymakers, government officials, and industry leaders to deliberate on Nigeria’s digital future, with a strong focus on the Nigeria First Online agenda. The discussions urged for digital patriotism by leveraging the .ng country code top-level domain (ccTLD) and the broader Domain Name System (DNS) industry to drive sustainable growth within Nigeria’s Internet ecosystem.

While the .ng domain already ranks second in Africa, stakeholders emphasized that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s “Made-in-Nigeria” policy must now extend to the digital space. They argued that owning Nigeria’s digital identity through .ng is both a matter of sovereignty and a strategic necessity in an increasingly digital-first global economy.

Representing the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, at the event, Senator Diket Plang underscored the vital role of government in shaping digital policy.

“We now live in a digital world, and we must also take ownership of our presence online, and for us, the true mark of that ownership is through the .ng domain,” he said.

Similarly, Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT & Cybersecurity, added: “We must understand that we are stakeholders in our Internet space and must promote what is ours.”

NiRA President, Adesola Akinsanya, described the .ng domain as “a symbol of Nigerian digital pride”, emphasizing that it reflects both national confidence and technical capacity.

“Our mission is to build trust through the Nigerian identity online and ensure every Nigerian is identifiable through our digital identity—the .ng domain,” Akinsanya said.

Chairperson of the NiRA Board of Trustees, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, echoed the call for urgent adoption of local digital infrastructure, saying: “There should be an urgent need to adopt what is ours, which is the .ng domain.”

The representative of the Director General of NITDA emphasized that the public sector must lead by example in representing Nigeria’s identity online.

“The Internet has gone beyond communication; it is now an infrastructure for innovation and identity,” the representative stated.

In a major policy step, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), revealed plans to ensure that all communications across the over 1,200 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are hosted under the .ng domain. This initiative aims to strengthen national digital sovereignty and eliminate the use of generic foreign domains in the public service.

Oluwaseyi Onasanya, Chief Operating Officer of NiRA, framed the conversation as one of digital accountability: “Nigerians need to adopt .ng to allow us to own our narrative online,” he said.

The Tech Convergence 2.0 event thus became a clarion call for individuals, institutions, and government bodies to move beyond rhetoric and act decisively. As Akinsanya summed up: “Nigeria’s digital identity must be owned, built, and secured by Nigerians.”