Digital economy: The emerging black gold

Nigeria’s economy and budget have been largely dependent on revenues generated from the petroleum industry since the 1960s. All that is bound to change sooner than anyone expects. The fact that the world is gradually moving towards clean energy and petroleum will be displaced as the mainstay of the nation’s economy, have been repeated like a broken record.

There are a number of sectors that are set to displace oil as the dominant driver of the nation’s economy. Agriculture, the entertainment industry and diaspora remittances are being list among the alternatives, if not the disrupters. However, Information Technology (IT) may soon dominate the country’s economic horizon. With the global business landscape being IT-driven and Nigeria’s huge population and its untapped economic potential, IT will be the next Black Gold, after petroleum has been displaced by technology and climate change activism.

The emerging pre-eminence of IT came to the fore in the most unlikely circumstance. During the lock down, which was compelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, governance was on the verge of total shutdown. However, Galaxy Backbone Limited came to the rescue as it got government going. By its intervention, the regular weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings held and decisions were taken, thereby enabling the running of government. In fact, the continuous governance plan was initiated by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami. Specifically, he ordered the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar, to rise to the Covid-19 foisted lockdown.

Recalling the incident, Professor Abubakar said that the minister mandated him to ensure than FEC resumes virtually and according to the Managing Director, “ICT became the available option.’’ So, Galaxy Backbone Limited provided and activated the platform which enabled the maiden edition of the virtual FEC meetings. The rest, as it is often said, is now history.

Indeed, Covid-19 has changed the world drastically, affecting the economic and socio political lives of everyone. Work life is no longer as it used to be and digital services have been accelerated to meet the demands and challenges of the new normal. Galaxy Backbone (GBB), the digital and shared services provider to public and private organizations, has become the hub of IT activities. In addition, the agency has continued to rise to the challenges, even in the post-lockdown era, where virtual meetings and all manner of ICT services are in high demand across the world.

In the last few months, GBB has increased and strengthened its provision of internet connectivity and Unified Communication services across public establishments to enhance optimum service. The Local Area Network of most public institutions are being enhanced to ensure high speed connectivity at different locations. Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies which are not yet connected to GBB’s supper-highway have been clamoring to join. According to reports, most have reached out to the Galaxy Backbone to join the gravy train.

A fundamental aspect of any strong and efficient digital economy is the people. So, GBB is investing in building human capacity with digital skills that will equip beneficiaries to take on the opportunities of the digital age. In partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), GBB recently trained a section of the Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DT-TWG); IT Professionals who were assembled by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to support respective agencies of government. At this training, technical and service experts from Galaxy backbone and NITDA, took participants through a whole gamut of courses, ranging from Digital Economy and the Public Sector, use of GOVMAIL, the official government email for digital communication, network and cyber security in the public sector.

In his efforts to ensure that GBB regional offices are performing at optimal levels, Professor Abubakar has visited the Lagos and Enugu offices. This first hand knowledge and on-the-spot assessment is aimed at devising innovative ways to offer GBB services in the regions. Right now, the Lagos office caters for the Southwest while the Enugu office takes care of the South East and the Southern part of the country generally. Last month, GBB launched “Storm”in Enugu. This connectivity and hosting platform is meant to look into the provision of digital and communication services to businesses and MDAs within the South East and South South region. This is being done in collaboration with its regional partners, Interra Networks. In the near future, GBB will be expanding its geographical spread across the other parts of the country.

Apart from manpower development and skills’ acquisition as well as plans to expand its operations, GBB is also focused on cyber security, which is an integral part of providing reliable services. Galaxy Backbone is building a robust security operations centre that has the capacity to detect and handle all forms of cyber threats within its environment. In this regard, GBB is partnering with Global Cyber-security organizations like Datasixth to strengthen this value addition to the customers they serve. With the signing of the MOU between GBB and Datasixth, organizations are rest assured of improved service delivery in a secure environment.

In order to achieve its mandate and deliver top-of-the-range services, Galaxy Backbone is determined to work with the private sector, so as to achieve digital inclusion in Nigeria. “In extending our hands to the private sector,” explains Prof Abubakar, “we are assuring them that we are not competitors, but we are trying to provide the enabling environment for them to thrive and deliver on their respective mandates and to contribute in deepening broadband penetration in the country.”

Significantly, GBB has what the private sector requires because it boasts of an enormous outlays of backbone infrastructure, passing through about 13 states of the federation, located in the South West, South South and North Central geopolitical zones. So, rather than invest in these infrastructures, Prof. Abubakar advised the private sector ‘’to leverage it to provide services to your customers. These will save costs and reduce expenditures.”

In the long run, the partnership will be a win-win situation that will deepen broadband penetration, ensure faster and more efficient ways of doing both government and private businesses, and improve revenue generation for government and businesses.

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan wrote from Kaduna