As the remains of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari is being laid to rest today, tributes have continued to pour in from all over the world to commiserate with Nigeria.
But even in mourning, many Nigerians cannot but refer to the eight-year rule of the late President, which ended two years ago.
Without doubt, Buhari’s regime made some positive marks in the Nigerian tech industry.
Yet, his tech policy agenda was a paradox—he championed ambitious initiatives like the eNaira, 4G/5G rollout, and the Nigeria Startup Act, yet equally drew criticism for disruptive regulatory crackdowns, including the Twitter and crypto bans.
Either for good or bad, Buhari’s administration sure left indelible memories in Nigeria and here Nairametrics is looking at policies that shaped the tech industry under his watch between 2015 and 2023.
Here are some of his key tech policies:
National Digital Ambition: Broadband, Data, & Digital Economy
Buhari’s administration launched the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS) 2020–2030 and the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, aiming to achieve 70 % broadband penetration and deliver 25 Mbps in urban areas and 10 Mbps in rural zones.
Under this blueprint, mobile broadband population coverage soared from 6 % (2015) to roughly 46 % by 2023, due in part to 4G expansion and Nigeria’s pioneering multi-operator 5G rollout across six cities
However, while the Broadband Plan set a target of 70% penetration to be achieved by the end of this year, the country has managed to achieve only 48.81% penetration as of May 2025, an indication that the target may not be met.
Twitter ban
While promoting policies to deepen the digital economy, Buhari’s government indefinitely suspended Twitter in June 2021 after the platform deleted his tweet alluding to the civil war.
The ban lasted seven months, forcing Nigerians to rely on VPNs to access the platform. The blackout hit SMEs, digital creators, and political discourse hard and even after ECOWAS ruled it illegal, social and investor confidence suffered.
According to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the shutdown of Twitter cost the Nigerian economy $26.1 billion. The Chamber noted that as a result of the ban, Nigerian businesses lost out both on online revenues and on potential sales to mass audiences.
Cryptocurrency ban
In February 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) barred banks from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions, ordering account closures linked to digital assets.
Far from reducing crypto use, the ban drove trading onto peer-to-peer networks. Nigeria handled $59 billion in crypto between July 2023–June 2024—nearly half of Sub‑Saharan Africa’s total.
The ban was repealed in December 2023, underscoring how overly tight regulation can fuel informal alternatives.
NIN‑SIM linkage
By December 2020, the NCC mandated SIM cards be linked to National Identity Numbers (NINs). With mounting unverifiable registrations, this was viewed as a tool against insecurity.
After multiple deadline extensions, the exercise was brought to a close in September 2024, after which over 60 million lines were disconnected.
At the end of September 2024, active subscriptions across the networks of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile had declined to 154.6 million from 219.6 million in March of the same year.
While several stakeholders commended the government’s policy, especially on the promise of being the solution to the rising insecurity in the country, many are now disappointed that the security situation in the country has yet to improve despite the declaration by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that all telephones in the country are now linked to the NIN of the owners.
Nigeria became first in Africa to launch CBDC with eNaira
Nigeria launched eNaira in October 2021—the first Central Bank Digital Currency on the African continent.
The eNaira was unveiled at the State House by late President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, 25 October. In his speech, he said that it would increase remittances, foster cross-border trade, improve financial inclusion and enable the government to make welfare payments more easily.
It aimed to modernize payments and counter crypto. However, poor app performance, merchant reluctance, and limited uptake have made it underwhelming. eNaira remains a pioneering but underutilised experiment.
Nigeria Startup Act
In October 2022, Buhari signed the Nigeria Startup Act, delivering tax breaks, credit schemes, and regulatory clarity for early-stage tech firms.
The Act establishes a legal and institutional framework to encourage growth, create jobs, and attract investment. Key aspects of the implementation include the establishment of the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the issuance of Startup Labels, and the development of Technology Development Zones.
This Act was signed at the twilight of the Buhari administration; hence, implementation did not start until the Bola Tinubu government came on board. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is currently labelling startups as part of the implementation.
Indigenous-first procurement and data governance
To the credit of the Buhari administration is the issuance of Executive Order 5 (2018), requiring government agencies to prioritise Nigerian tech vendors—a significant boost for local content developers
Additionally, the administration launched the National Data Policy, the Policy on Government Second-Level Domains, and created bodies like the National Data Protection Bureau and National Centre for AI & Robotics, signalling a push toward data sovereignty and cyber readiness
Bottom line
Buhari’s tenure left Nigeria’s digital economy with a complex inheritance of bold vision countered by restrictive measures.
His successor, President Tinubu, inherits both the infrastructure and the policy playbook, with the opportunity to learn from past missteps: better support for innovation, balanced regulation, competitive forex policies, and more inclusive rollouts.
Harnessing these lessons could accelerate Nigeria’s tech transformation and turn Buhari’s foundation into sustainable growth.
