Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has unveiled a bold vision for the nation’s digital future, emphasising substantial investments in broadband infrastructure, satellite connectivity, and telecommunication upgrades.
Dr. Tijani, in an interview with Arise News on Friday, reiterated government plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fiber optic cables and improve base station coverage, to deliver transformative connectivity solutions that would drive economic growth, improve service quality, and enhance security across the country by 2025.
He discussed ongoing projects, funding strategies, and the expected impact on the nation’s economy.
Responding to questions about the budget and infrastructure allocations in 2025, Dr. Tijani noted the federal government’s commitment to building robust infrastructure. “If you follow the record of this president, who has strong clarity in the need to deepen but also build infrastructure,” he said, adding, “I think the president has been extremely clear on the role of the data economy, its contributions to the growth we would like to see in our country.”
Highlighting a significant project approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), he explained, “Earlier this year, the FEC approved a memo to set up a special purpose vehicle meant to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fiber optic cables in Nigeria.
“Half of the money is what the government would make available, and we have been able to secure private companies that would bring the other half.”
Dr. Tijani revealed that the government’s contribution, just under $1 billion, has been secured through loans included in the country’s borrowing plan. “We are extremely happy with the support we have received from the president, the Ministry of Finance, and the CME.
“We are looking forward to next year because we have made significant progress with our funding partner, particularly the World Bank, on this project,” he said.
He noted that the project is expected to commence construction between the second and third quarters of 2025. “We are looking forward to being able to start digging sometime around Q2 to Q3 next year,” he stated.
Dr. Tijani also addressed the issue of broadband expansion and the challenges of achieving nationwide connectivity. “For those who understand the backbone of connectivity, for people to really enjoy quality connectivity, you would either have to rely on private companies to put their funding into building an extensive network within the country,” he explained.
However, he pointed out the limitations of this approach: “The challenge with that approach is that businesses would only invest significantly where they are sure that their returns can be guaranteed almost immediately, at least in a short to medium-term sense.”
He emphasised the role of government in bridging this gap. “The other option, which is the common option in many progressive countries, is that governments would have to understand and put their own resources into it, knowing that connectivity is now an important resource that every citizen should have access to regardless of where they find themselves,” he said.
Dr. Tijani stressed the importance of quality. “The quality of the connectivity is now in question. It has to be up to a certain level. What you have seen is that governments invest in that backbone, allowing businesses to transmit and run seamlessly and provide the quality of service that people want to see,” he noted.
He also highlighted efforts to augment connectivity using satellite technology. “As a country, over the years, we have licensed a few satellite-based companies to also augment what we currently have. In the last 12 months, we have pushed our satellites to support providing connectivity for people across the country,” he said.
Looking ahead, Dr. Tijani revealed discussions with the president about improving telecommunication infrastructure. “One other conversation I have had with the president that is likely to come on really strong on our agenda next year is the augmentation of base stations because we have too many parts of our country that still don’t have the right base stations for telecommunication services,” he said.
He added, “Government may have to invest to augment this to ensure that we can provide quality connectivity services to our people.”
Dr. Tijani emphasised the broader implications of connectivity. “Connectivity has gone beyond allowing people to use the internet. It is extremely critical for security, agriculture, and mining. All these put together show that we would not go for short-term solutions but must find long-term solutions to ensure meaningful connectivity for our people,” he said.
Dr. Tijani expressed optimism for the year ahead. “We have laid that foundation in 2024. In 2025, towards the middle of the year, you would start to see a lot of activities,” he said.
Outlining key expectations, he stated, “We are going to be scaling through NTT. Expect the quality of connectivity to be significantly better. Investment into ICT is expected to go up.
“We would also be releasing the draft for our data public infrastructure standard, and we expect people will start to see the deep impact not only on themselves but on the GDP of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he concluded.
Boluwatife Enome
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