Nigeria's National Geo-spatial Data Infrastructure: Problems and Prospects

SUMMARY Virtually all the information required for planning and national development are spatial in nature. That is they are referenced to a giving geographic location on the earth. For easy accessibility, such information must be produced in coordinated and consistent manner and distributed harmoniously to all who need them. Geographic information system provides the platform for handling spatially referenced information and allows for integration of datasets from different sources. When such spatial information are available even in organised form, a suitable framework or technology is needed to facilitate data sharing among various users and producers. Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GDI) provides the framework and technology to accomplish this. A national Geospatial Data Infrastructure is therefore necessary to facilitate harmonious production, usage and dissemination of geographic data in a country. Nigeria has started the process of developing her National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI). This paper looks at the structure and implementation strategy of Nigeria’s National Geospatial Data Infrastructure, the problems inherent in its implementation and prospects it holds for our developing economy.