Abdullahi Alhassan has just received news of gaining an admission to study engineering in the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in North Western art of Nigeria.

But to get the news, he had to climb one of the hills in his community in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State, waiting for hours for his call to connect to a relative.

While it was a glad tiding he had been hoping for to further his education, the next hurdle he had to succumb was how to transfer money to this relative to pay his acceptance fee into the institution’s account.

“For the past three years there has not been a stable internet network in our community due to attacks on telecommunications networks by armed bandits. There are no banks or PoS operators to send or withdraw money, the alternative is travel to the state capital, Kaduna, which is more than 200 kilometers to conduct transactions but my parents won’t be able to fund that trip back and forth just to pay for university admission.”

Recalling his bitter experience before getting his admission, Alhassan said he had to take the grueling trip to Kaduna in order to pay for his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and go back to write the exams, which he came out with flying colours.

For Alhassan, the absence of network and internet connectivity that could have enabled him to make digital financial transactions for his admissions was exhilarating. He is in a hurry to leave the community.

Community leader and lecturer at the Usmanu Ɗanfodiyo University, Sokoto, Muhammad Galadima Isah agrees with the concerns of Alhassan.

He said the lack of access to internet connectivity means young people in the community are also deprived of digital solutions in the area of healthcare, communication, and financial transactions.

“Thousands are unable to make calls or send messages during emergencies, leading to avoidable injuries and even deaths. Medical emergencies become catastrophic when there is no way to contact healthcare providers. The lack of networks also disrupts government operations, halts banking activities, and forces students to travel to Kaduna or Minna just to sit for internet-based exams such as JAMB. Simple processes like resolving bank issues or obtaining a National Identification Number (NIN) have become insurmountable tasks for many.”

Lack of network connectivity is not peculiar to Birnin Gwari alone, for Firdaus Yakubu who lives in Paiko Bassa, a community in Gwagwalada area Council of Abuja, the need to make contact with the outside world through her phones means she needs to trek to 10 kilometers to a nearby community.

“Our community has never been connected to the internet so we have gotten used to walking. But that means you won’t do anything meaningful for that day due to the hours you will spend on the road and back.”

There are also security implications for this prevailing situation, Bassa said. She fears being waylaid by armed gangs or thugs that have made kidnapping for ransom as a business.

“Due to the distance, we tried to leave before the evening due to the insecurity facing rural communities across the country,” she said.

“Despite our community being agrarian, we can’t engage in online transactions even with the least form of financial transaction which is through the PoS operators. We mostly take our products to Gwagwalada town and this makes our product costly instead of potential customers coming to our place to transact. It is also risky for us too because if you engage in a failed transaction, there is no way to call the attention of the sender once we’ve left the market.”

Travelling to his village in Gagarawa Local government of Jigawa State for the Sallah festivities every year means Isa Ismaila would be cut off from the rest of the world as the only internet connectivity in the community works for those using the MTN mobile telecommunication service.

Ismaila, who works as a journalist, said he uses another network service provider, 9mobile to surf the internet and make calls but with the service not available. “So, whenever I am traveling to Jigawa State from Abuja, where I am based, I can’t communicate. I can’t even send WhatsApp messages to stay informed on happenings in the country which I could report on as my job needs me to keep updated.”

“So, in cases of emergencies, it becomes quite difficult to be reachable, especially as a journalist, you’re actually traveling. So, you have to have another network or another SIM operator for you to be able to actually travel to such communities.”

Nigeria’s thriving digital economy

The youthful population of Nigeria has brought about a rise in its digital economy and fueled by access to internet connectivity.

While many businesses have sprung with the aid of digital connectivity, revolutionizing business transaction and reach, this has not cascaded to rural areas who have continued to languish in poverty with lack of investment in critical infrastructure that could expose their economic potential to the world.

Interestingly, Nigeria’s digital economy’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surpassed the oil sector as a primary driver of the GDP, despite cities in urban areas still experiencing unfluctuating internet connection.

But its unavailability in rural communities exposes lack of equity in the country’s digital revolution that has provided job opportunities and global connections.

Planned investment

Only 43 percent of the country has availability of broadband connection, and the proposed Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 has failed to meet up with a 70 per cent broadband penetration target by 2025.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has disclosed that the federal government would invest $2bn on 90,000km of fibre optic cables from April 2025.

Tijani said the government would provide half of the investment, about $1bn through loans, while private companies would provide the other half of the project’s financing.

The minister, who noted that significant progress has been made in discussions with funding partners of the project, especially the World Bank, hopes to commence digging for the laying of the cables in Q2 2025.

Speaking on the importance of government support and investment, the minister said many Nigerians are complaining about the poor quality of service today because of the inadequate infrastructure deployed by private operators.

He noted that the operators would only invest in areas where they can get higher returns, which is why some parts of the country have been experiencing poor connectivity.

“When we came in, the assessment we made was that as a nation, you have two options: build on the backbone for a digital economy and connectivity.

“For people to truly enjoy quality connectivity, you will have to rely on private companies, the MNOs, the infracos, to put their private funding into building expansive and extensive networks for connectivity within the country.

“But the challenge with that approach, which is the first approach, is that businesses would only invest significantly where they are sure that their returns can be guaranteed almost immediately, at least in a short to medium-term sense.

“The other option, which is the common option that you’ve seen in many progressive countries, is that the government will have to understand and, of course, put its skin in the game, knowing that connectivity is now clearly an important resource that every citizen should have access to, regardless of where you find yourself,” he explained.

What government needs to do

While the government is yet to disclose who to prioritise for the project, the Executive Chairman of Consultancy Support Services (CS2), Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, said internet access in Nigeria is relatively expensive, unreliable for many, especially in rural areas.

He noted that beyond affordability and performance, trust is essential as people need confidence that their data is safe and protected from scams, adding that with creative solutions, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and community-driven multi-stakeholder approaches, Nigeria can transform its digital future.

He said Nigeria can learn from the Indian state of Telangana, which started in 2015 laying 150,000 km of fibre-optic cable alongside water pipes as part of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).

“In Nigeria, burying fibre cables below water pipes would make them less prone to vandalism, as communities are more likely to report water pipe damage. Governments could waive right-of-way (RoW) fees, ease permissions, and offer tax holidays to make this cost-effective. Fibre-laying firms would work alongside water boards, ensuring standards for both pipes and cables are met.”

He also called for deploying low-orbit satellites, fibre-optic cables, and wireless systems to connect remote and rural areas. “Wrapping fibre cables around electrical transmission poles can also save costs and reduce right-of-way issues, while prompt reporting of electricity faults would lead to timely repairs ensure cables are maintained – electricity is needed where significant quantities of data is produced, stored, or consumed.”

He called for encouraging internet companies to share existing towers, cables, and systems rather than duplicating efforts which will save time and money. Public-private partnerships can reduce costs, speed up projects, and improve outcomes.

“Hyderabad, India, has installed 250 Wi-Fi hotspots and plans to scale to 3,000 locations. Each citizen gets an hour of free internet access, with additional time available through a smart payment system. Nigeria could adopt a similar PPP model to deploy public Wi-Fi in schools, markets, and libraries.”

“Similarly, back in 2016, India was linking 250 villages to fibre optic cable and 19 million homes to broadband in 18 months, with a goal to have at least one fibre access point in each village managed by a woman – gender empowerment. This not only creates internet access but also generates businesses for women. Nigeria could replicate this approach to empower women and create new opportunities in underserved communities.”

This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.