The Managing Director of Nigeria’s state-owned digital infrastructure provider, Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, has disclosed that the federal government has laid over 5,000 kilometers of fibre optic cable across 28 states under its National Information Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) project.
Adeyanju disclosed this on Tuesday while delivering a keynote at the 15th edition of the ICTEL Expo 2025 held in Lagos with the theme “Leveraging Technology for Innovation and Development in Africa.”
According to him, the infrastructure is now connecting state capitals, federal institutions, MDAs, and private sector players, all under the management of Galaxy Backbone.
“But we are not stopping at routers and cables. We are building a platform for digital governance,” he added.
Powering innovations with infrastructure
He further noted that the company operates Africa’s largest publicly owned data centre network, certified by the Uptime Institute to Tier III and Tier IV standards.
- The infrastructure, he said, empowers startups, government agencies, and businesses with access to data services that were once only available to international tech firms.
- Beyond connectivity, Adeyanju said Galaxy Backbone’s infrastructure includes a 24/7 Network Operating Centre (NOC) and a cutting-edge Security Operations Centre (SOC).
- These facilities provide round-the-clock cybersecurity coverage, including threat detection, endpoint protection, and brand integrity monitoring, a critical foundation for Nigeria’s growing digital governance ecosystem.
Emphasizing the importance of infrastructure to innovation, Adeyanju said:
“Infrastructure doesn’t innovate, but it empowers innovators: when developers know they can deploy solutions on reliable networks; When startups can build products without worrying about downtime; When government services are digitalized and predictable, then the real magic of innovation, entrepreneurship, and scale can happen.”
- On why Nigeria needs to deepen broadband, he cited research by the World Bank, which shows that a 10% increase in broadband penetration in developing countries leads to a 1.38% increase in GDP growth.
- According to him, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU’s) Digital Development Index places Nigeria at a lower-middle readiness tier—meaning there is room to grow, but also tremendous opportunity to leapfrog through focused investment and collaboration.
The need for collaboration
While noting that no single entity can meet the infrastructure needs of Nigeria, Adeyanju said the country will move faster and farther if the government, private sector, academia, tech hubs, and development partners come together.
“At GBB, we are opening our infrastructure to partnerships that align with national interest and innovation capacity,” he said.
Adeyanju added that such collaboration will also ensure that the infrastructure that has been built is being fully utilized to launch innovative startups, strengthen cybersecurity practices, enhance e-learning and digital health, and foster research, robotics, and AI locally.
