<p>One of the major pathways to sustainable development is a sound higher education system, which is essential to any country’s progress. Nigeria continues to face extensive governance and policy issues that undermine the digitalization of higher education. This study investigates the transition from policy formulation to strategic action, examining the extent to which policies have been translated into practice and the governance factors that facilitate or hinder digital transformation of higher education in Nigeria. A mixed-method design was adopted, combining a survey of 243 stakeholders drawn from public and private universities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, including 118 faculty members, 65 administrators, and 60 students with key informant interviews of institutional leaders, government officials, and ICT managers. Reliability and regression analyses (α = 0.943, Ridge/Lasso regression, PCA) identified government policy support and institutional funding allocation as the strongest predictors of digital transformation, while stakeholder participation effects appeared weaker in quantitative analysis but prominent in qualitative narratives. These findings reveal the persistent gap between top-down policy design and bottom-up implementation. To bridge this gap, the study evaluates a Stakeholder-Driven Co-Governance (SDCG) model, not as a prescriptive solution, but as a framework to explore potential pathways for greater policy–practice alignment. The study concludes that while national policies provide strategic direction, sustainable digital transformation in Nigerian higher education will require financial alignment, simplified governance, and inclusive but realistic stakeholder participation.</p>