An article on the impact of digitalisation on economic growth by A. Aleksandrova in a Brazilian academic journal highlights their connection by underscoring “the willingness of businesses and the population to accept advanced digital technologies.” It notes that a country’s leadership, desiring to develop an effective digitalisation strategy, will need to recognise the rate of economic growth, the state of digital life, and the resilience of the environment.
There is a sense in which, upon reviewing what has been happening in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem in the last year, there is someone who has a superb understanding of this interconnectedness and is running with and delivering on it. That person is none other than Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, who has been saddled by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since 2023 to help the government navigate the intricate web of technology, digitalisation, innovation, and economic growth.
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Dr Tijani came prepared for the task the President would assign him after he was initially tapped for an appointment into the cabinet. That is why, in all that he has done so far, there is a depth of understanding in execution, delivery, and outcome. His takeoff point was masterminding the development of a strategic blueprint for the ministry he was assigned to superintend. It immediately established his visionary approach to Mr President’s assignment to him as head of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.
His is a blueprint of clarity that highlights specific areas for which the ministry under his watch should be measured and judged. Although he is often quick to say the blueprint “doesn’t detail exactly how everything will be done,” it is a document that “acknowledges the different paths and stakeholders involved in government and focuses on goals that align with the current global landscape and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria’s progress in telecommunications and the larger ICT space, and our aim to build on that progress to seize available opportunities.”
The mechanism set up by the President to assess the performances of his appointees over the past year would definitely have found ready answers to the questions asked of the appointees in Mr. Tijani’s presentation. The blueprint is also remarkable for its accurate definition of the situation it set out to navigate.
“We recognised Nigeria’s ongoing push towards economic diversification and increased productivity, which is impossible without digital technology in today’s world,” Dr. Tijani enthuses, and you can see his eagerness to make digital technology serve Nigeria’s push for economic growth.
“The objective is to establish the necessary regulations and laws to support the use of technology effectively. For any meaningful change in government, legal frameworks are essential.”
For a country that has lost many years and needs to catch up very fast with the rest of the world, it is understandable why the Minister has set an ambitious vision for the Ministry. The scope is massive, but that is justified by the fact that he knows Nigeria well enough, especially given its demography, and the fact that he is in an administration that has promised Nigerians a lot and is keen to deliver on its promise.
The Minister explains: “Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, we are investing in 90,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure. This project aims to utilise Nigeria’s nine submarine cables more effectively, as currently, we are not using even 15 percent of their capacity. By laying this extensive fibre network, we aim to enable fibre-to-base station connections, which will allow us to leapfrog from older technologies directly to the latest ones, bypassing incremental upgrades.
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“This project is a significant investment estimated to cost about $2 billion. In the past nine months, we’ve secured approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to set up a special-purpose vehicle to manage this initiative. We’ve engaged seven development finance institutions and private companies interested in co-investing, streamlining the process to complete the setting up of the SPV within six to nine months,” Dr. Tijani further said.
The ministry has collaborated with development finance institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AFDB) to resource the programme to deliver the third longest fibre network in Africa, after Egypt and South Africa.
Along with securing finance for the programme, the ministry is strenuously coordinating several national institutions independently working in the communications sector “to harmonise their requests and demands. Once they present their requirements to us, we can respond efficiently to accelerate the process. We expect to secure the funding within six to nine months. Once the funding is in place, the deployment of the fibre networks will begin immediately. You will start seeing parts of the country being connected. Our target is to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre within the next two to three years.”
There is also the interesting development concerning Nigeria’s drive for foreign director investment (FDI) and Minister Tijani’s efforts in this regard. The ministry’s FDI objectives are actively being pursued, and in one instance, it has converted a long-unused building in San Francisco into a hub for Nigerian startups. “This will enable Nigerian companies to build relationships and secure funding from the Bay Area, which is a significant source of investment for technology startups,” the Minister said.
The goal is to increase funding for Nigerian startups from around $2 billion to $5 billion by the end of this administration. This initiative will not only open Nigeria to the world but also create more jobs and boost foreign direct investment in our economy,” he further explained.
He continues with trying to establish the connection between what happens in the communications sector and overall economic development. “Once a country is adequately connected based on a strategic plan, its economy will be significantly impacted,” Dr. Tijani says. “In Nigeria’s case, we need 125,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable. So far, we’ve installed 35,000 kilometres. To achieve our goal, we need to complete an additional 90,000 kilometres. This investment of $2 billion is projected to add approximately two percent to Nigeria’s GDP, which is a significant boost,” he adds.
Dr. Tijani also wants to carry Nigerians along on this journey of transformation that he is spearheading and is quick to offer clarification: “Many government agencies collect data, but often this data is stored in silos. As a result, it does not effectively inform government decision-making. The president has emphasised the need to change this, focusing on transforming the delivery of government services through technology.”
The ministry also understands the importance of statutory enablement of its efforts and has stood behind the bill for the national digital economy currently before the national assembly, which has now completed its first reading. The objective is to establish the necessary regulations and laws to support the use of technology effectively. For any meaningful change in government, legal frameworks are essential.
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He tells you enthusiastically that he is satisfied with the momentum that the ministry has built and the public infrastructure that has been delivered and the ones promised.
He offers a masterly explanation: “When we took office, we recognised that digital public infrastructure can be divided into three core components, all of which rely on foundational infrastructure—specifically, connectivity. This connectivity forms the foundation of our digital infrastructure. For example, while it’s not the responsibility of individual businesses to create credit bureaus, there is now a Consumer Credit Agency established by the President. However, for this agency to function effectively, the system must allow for interoperability. Without a seamless data exchange system, businesses struggle to assess customers’s creditworthiness.”
Dr Tijani says a lot has changed in the area of emerging technologies since he assumed office. “One significant example of our innovation from a policy perspective is the development of our artificial intelligence (AI) strategy,” he says.
Continuing, he says: “Historically, African countries have been underestimated in the field of AI, often seen as too expensive or advanced for us. However, we challenged this notion by taking a groundbreaking approach that has now been recognised globally as one of the most innovative in national AI strategy development.”
The ministry identified top researchers in artificial intelligence worldwide, focusing on those with Nigerian names to find individuals who might be of Nigerian descent. According to the minister, “This search spanned countries from the UK to Saudi Arabia, Germany, the US, Malaysia, and beyond. Out of the 5,000 experts we identified, we narrowed it down to 150 of the best. In April, we brought 60 of these global experts to Abuja, along with 60 Nigerian AI professionals, to collaborate on crafting our AI strategy framework.”
The minister is making the right sound by trying to see that technology is used to better every aspect of the economy to produce growth and enhance the quality of life for Nigerians. “The flow of technology into various sectors, such as agriculture, through innovations like drones, will drive further growth. We need to continue showcasing our strategy and the potential of our ICT sector to the world to attract more investments and maintain this upward trajectory,” Dr. Tijani says motivationally.
Looking to the next two years and attempting to make a promise to Nigerians regarding their expectations, he says: “For me, the promises are clear. We will see more technology jobs in Nigeria over the next three years because we are training people and working to put them into jobs. This is going to be significant. Additionally, we will start to see the realisation of investments in connectivity, which will improve the quality of internet connections across the country.”
He anticipates that the ICT sector’s contribution to the GDP could reach about 21 percent from the projected $5 billion in startup investments.
This is a job in which Dr. Tijani came prepared. His pedigree says so. With an intimidating academic background and rich work experience, he studied economics for his first degree at the University of Jos before adding a Master’s in Information Systems and Management from Warwick University and a Doctorate in Innovation and Economic Development from the University of Leicester. He is also an adjunct professor at the Wits School of Governance, South Africa, a Desmond Tutu Fellow, and a fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law at the prestigious Stanford University.
He is co-founder and former CEO of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB), the leading pan-African technology and innovation centre with presence in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Namibia. CcHUB became a vital catalyst for the African tech ecosystem, promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the development of groundbreaking solutions to local and global challenges.
Prior to CcHUB, he led the networking and coordination of innovation agencies across Europe as European Innovation Manager at PERA and also previously worked at the International Trade Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.
The world is noticing revolutionary changes in Nigeria’s economy, vis-à-vis the digitization process being orchestrated by Tijani. Brigit Williams, a digital economist based in London, offers this remark: “Nigeria, a giant waking from its slumber to measure shoulders with other countries and take full advantage of technology to invigorate its economy.”
In Nigeria, Jude Ogaziechi, a Lagos-based dealer in communications technology, applauded President Tinubu’s vision in appointing a fit and proper person for the job. “If you’re looking for square pegs in square holes in the administration, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani is one of them,” he says.
