Nigeria’s digital backbone is coming under intense legislative scrutiny as the National Assembly seeks to fortify the nation’s “sovereign” data assets.
Members of the Joint Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity recently conducted a high-level oversight visit to the National Shared Services Centre (NSSC), the nerve center of Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited.
The visit, led by Stanley Olajide Adedeji, chairman, House Committee on Digital and Information Technology, signaled a growing consensus within the 10th Assembly: Galaxy Backbone is a strategic national asset that requires a significant capital infusion to keep pace with Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
The IDTS 2024–2028: A Blueprint for Sovereign Transformation
At the heart of the engagement was the presentation of GBB’s Integrated Digital Transformation Strategy (IDTS) 2024–2028.
This five-year roadmap is designed to move the Nigerian government beyond fragmented IT silos toward a unified, secure, and scalable cloud-first architecture.
Sovereign Data: GBB is doubling down on “data sovereignty,” urging MDAs to migrate their workloads to its world-class Tier III data centers.
National Reach: The strategy focuses on expanding high-speed fiber infrastructure to underserved regions, ensuring that government-to-citizen (G2C) services are not limited to urban hubs.
Cyber-Resilience: With the rise in global state-sponsored cyber threats, the IDTS prioritizes “cybersecurity resilience” as a core pillar of national security.
The Funding Gap: Investing in Economic Resilience
Despite being the infrastructure engine for government digital services, GBB faces the challenge of maintaining cutting-edge hardware in a volatile economic environment.
Adedeji emphasized that legislative support must translate into tangible funding to ensure global competitiveness.
“Organisations such as Galaxy Backbone are pivotal to building the digital infrastructure required to support governance, economic resilience, and Nigeria’s future competitiveness,” Adedeji noted. He stressed that greater investment is no longer optional if Nigeria aims to achieve its digital transformation targets.
A Call for Inter-Agency Migration
Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, the managing director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, used the visit to issue a clarion call to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
By leveraging GBB’s shared services, the government aims to:
Reduce Redundancy: Eliminate the cost of MDAs building independent, small-scale data centers.
Enhance Security: Consolidate government data within a secure, Tier III environment protected by national cybersecurity protocols.
Promote Efficiency: Enable seamless Government-to-Government (G2G) data sharing.
The Realpolitik of Digital Infrastructure
For Galaxy Backbone, the challenge remains two-fold: Technology and Trust. While the NSSC boasts world-class facilities, GBB must convince skeptical MDAs that its “Shared Services” model can provide the uptime and speed required for modern governance.
The endorsement from the National Assembly provides the political cover needed to enforce a “GBB-First” policy for government data, potentially saving the federation billions in duplicative ICT spending.
“GBB remains steadfast in its mission to power Nigeria’s digital future by delivering world-class ICT infrastructure and enterprise solutions that support efficient governance,” Prof. Adeyanju concluded.
