Highlighting the critical vulnerabilities of West Africa’s digital backbone, Aliyu Aboki, the executive secretary of the West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly, delivered a compelling call to action at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026.
Addressing an audience of global regulators, financiers, and infrastructure operators, Aboki argued that the reliability of submarine cables is now the primary determinant of economic stability for West Africa’s $800 billion GDP landscape.
The Economics of Downtime
Reflecting on the catastrophic cable disruptions of March 2024, which saw internet traffic in some nations drop by over 50%, Aboki emphasized that the regional digital economy, valued between $100 billion and $150 billion, is currently built on a fragile foundation.
“Resilience is no longer a technical concern; it is an economic one,” stated Aliyu Aboki. “For West Africa, this conversation is not theoretical. It is immediate and consequential. We have seen that capacity is not resilience. You can have all the bandwidth in the world, but if your routing patterns allow a single incident to sever multiple systems, your economy remains at risk.”
Protecting Livelihoods, Not Just Links
Aboki’s address shifted the focus from hardware to human impact, noting that for many Nigerians and West Africans, digital connectivity is the difference between a meal and an empty plate.
“What is often overlooked is that resilience is about livelihoods,” Aboki remarked. “It is what allows a 24-year-old graduate running a furniture business on Instagram in Lagos to continue fulfilling orders without interruption. It enables the small-scale grocery distributor in Surulere to keep transactions flowing when networks are under strain. In our region, disruptions translate directly into lost income with limited buffers.”
The High Cost of Repair and Recovery
The Executive Secretary highlighted the staggering financial burden of maintaining these systems. With typical repairs costing between $1.5 million and $2 million, and escalating to $8 million in complex cases, Aboki noted that Africa is disproportionately affected by the lack of localized repair vessels and harmonized administrative procedures.
“The 2024 disruptions were a stress test that exposed a structural mismatch,” Aboki explained. “Submarine networks are regional, yet governance remains largely national. Delays in customs, port access, and inter-agency coordination extend repair timelines and increase the cost of capital. We must treat submarine cable resilience as a regional public good.”
The WATRA Roadmap for 2026
Under Aboki’s leadership, WATRA is pushing for a unified regulatory framework across its 16 member states to ensure that the digital economy can withstand future shocks.
The proposed interventions include:
- Streamlined Permitting: Predetermined landing processes to fast-track repair operations.
- Emergency Protocols: Pre-agreed regional coordination for specialized repair vessels.
- Investment Design: Prioritizing “true route diversity” to avoid correlated risks where multiple cables share the same physical path.
A Foundation for the Future
Closing his address, Aboki reminded stakeholders that the momentum of West Africa’s fintech, e-commerce, and digital entrepreneurship sectors depends entirely on infrastructure that remains invisible until it fails.
“For West Africa’s digital economy, resilience is not optional. It is foundational. If we embed it into our policy and financing frameworks today, we build a more robust foundation for a growth that leaves no one behind.”
