Nigeria Approves Plan To Deploy 90,000km Of Fibre Optic Cable For Nationwide Internet Access

Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, ‘Bosun Tijani on Monday said the Federal Government has approved a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to support the deployment of an additional 90,000km of fibre optic cable for universal access to the internet across Nigeria.
The Minister said the project would increase Nigeria’s fibre optic cable capacity from 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 km, making it Africa’s third-longest terrestrial fibre optic backbone behind South Africa and Egypt.
He said the deployment will start in the next eight to 12 months as the government has started putting together the $2bn fund needed to achieve the project.
The minister spoke at the ongoing EdTech Conference organised by the Mastercard Foundation, through its Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, in partnership with the Federal Government.
The two – day inaugural EdTech Conference had: ‘Education Technology for Resilient and Inclusive Learning in Africa’ as its theme.
Tijani said the project would strengthen internet connectivity in schools, hospitals and critical institutions once it was deployed.
He said: “Nigeria needs 125, 000km of fibre optic cable. Fortunately for us, the private sector has invested 35, 000km. Since the emergence of this administration, it has been very clear that President Bola Tinubu, with the support of the ministry, will aggressively deploy 90, 000km of fibre optic cable.
“About six or seven weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council actually approved the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is now working with seven to eight fibre development finance institutions. Our goal is that over the next two to three years, we should be able to deploy 90, 000km of fibre optic cable across the entire country which will imply that the quality of internet will go up significantly but also it will imply that regardless of where you find yourself in Nigeria you will be able to access the internet.
“A lot of our schools, hospitals and critical institutions will now be connected once we are able to deploy that fibre optic cable. That is what we are working on.
“We are hoping that deployment will start in the next eight to 12 months because the funding, which is a $2bn fund, is now being put together to achieve that.
“If we start to use technology in education, a lot of our people that are out of school will now have the opportunity to be enlightened whether they are within school or they go to community centres where they are; technology will give them the opportunity and we will now start creating more jobs.”
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, highlighted the role of technology as an enabler in nurturing learning among the younger generation.
He highlighted ongoing initiatives by the Federal Ministry of Education to integrate technology into education, including the DOT program aimed at enhancing educational data accessibility in Nigeria.
DOTS is an acronym representing: Data Repository, Out-of-School Children’s Education, Teacher Training and Development, and Skill Development and Acquisition.
Prof Mamman said: “We are developing a curriculum which will be concluded by end of August and ready for implementation by all schools in Nigeria by September (2024).
“At the moment the official statistic of out – of school children is about 10 – 11 million. The World Bank, UNICEF are using something that is almost twice that figure.
“Part of what we are doing at the ministry is to gather data. This is going to put paid to all these speculation of the population of out – of – school in Nigeria.
“By the time we are done by the end of the year the country should be able to know exactly how many people are out – of – school.”
Director at the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, Joseph Nsengimana said the centre was driving the use of technology to improve access to quality education, particularly for the most underserved communities.
He said: “The Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning drives the innovative use of technology to improve access to quality education, particularly for the most underserved communities.
“The Centre works with a range of actors — including innovation hubs, EdTech entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, educators, and learners – to support the effective and impactful integration of technology in education, including the development, deployment and scale-up of promising EdTech innovations that boost learning and strengthen the education system.”
The Chief Program Officer, Mastercard Foundation, Prof. Peter Materu called for accelerated progress towards digitally-enabled educational platforms and systems that would deliver inclusive learning for all.
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