Internet of Things Implementation Challenges in Nigerian Smart City Initiatives: A Study of Eko Atlantic City, Lagos

Smart city initiatives in Nigeria represent ambitious attempts to harness the Internet of Things for urban infrastructure optimisation, yet the implementation challenges specific to the Nigerian built environment context have received limited scholarly attention. This study examines IoT implementation challenges in the Eko Atlantic City development in Lagos, South West Nigeria, one of West Africa's most prominent smart city projects. A qualitative research design incorporating semi-structured interviews with 18 IoT system engineers, urban planners, and infrastructure managers engaged in the project was supplemented by an analysis of technical documentation and project reports. Challenges identified are organised into five categories: connectivity infrastructure limitations, power reliability constraints, interoperability between IoT vendor systems, cybersecurity risks specific to connected urban infrastructure, and governance gaps in multi-stakeholder IoT deployments. Findings reveal that power supply instability is the most disruptive implementation challenge, requiring costly backup power solutions that raise overall system cost beyond initial projections. Interoperability between proprietary IoT platforms from different vendors is identified as a strategic constraint limiting the city's long-term scalability. The study contributes a Nigerian Smart City IoT Implementation Challenge Framework and recommends mandatory open-standard IoT procurement requirements in the project's next development phase. Keywords: IoT, smart city, Eko Atlantic, Lagos, urban technology.