Certainly, there is no end to the acquisition of knowledge as the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Mallam Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has demonstrated his commitment to academia by confirming that he teaches and still oversees various postgraduate students, despite his enormous responsibilities as a serving minister.
Pantami made the revelation in an appreciation to the leadership of the Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN), Kano, while commissioning the computer school that bears his name there. The Minister took advantage of the ceremony to re-emphasize the important advantage of continuous knowledge acquisition in the technological ecosystem. This is another historic contribution of the institutions to the advancement of knowledge and skills in cyber security, information technology, software engineering and computer science in Nigeria.
MAAUN Founder, Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, informed that the School of Computing is named after the Minister because of his lofty achievements in building Nigeria’s digital economy and encouraging technological advancement in all sectors economy.
In continuation of Kano’s emerging status as the center of innovation of the northwestern geopolitical area of Nigeria, the minister has also commissioned another giant structure in the ancient city of the pyramids, in the form of the infrastructure of world-class digital services and Tier 4 data from Kano. Center launched by Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited in response to demand from stakeholders and technology companies for more digital data centers in Nigeria.
Inspecting GBB’s digital services infrastructure, the minister commended the agency for the step taken to design the center to enhance the total customer experience for its discerning clients who cut across the public and private sectors. He said the new digital infrastructure will serve as a backup to Uptime Institute’s Tier III certified data center in Abuja.
The new data center infrastructure will provide secure and available data center services across the country and improve online information needed for seamless research and programming. Indeed, data centers, also called supercomputers, have the capacity to store huge volumes of information.
Data centers are supercomputers that store all the online information and data of millions of people around the world. Kano’s new data center once again confirms that the world is becoming more and more interconnected every day.
Galaxy Backbone Limited was established to enable and provide technology services to public sector agencies and institutions, as well as the private sector, by managing information technology and shared services for the Federal Government of Nigeria. While supporting public and private sector organizations and companies in hosting and securing their data for business continuity purposes, he has also engaged in numerous projects to deepen the experience of the national digital infrastructure in the country.
The Kano data center is not the first in Nigeria as the agency had run Nective 1 which is the backbone of the national information and communication network in the southern states. As such, the commissioning of Nective 2, which covers the northern regions of the country, is another major technological achievement of GBB Limited.
GBB’s North West Regional Office and Network Operation Center has brought many benefits to Nigerians, especially for the North Region by expanding its technology innovation ecosystem. Data center storage capacity is being implemented in phases, with the first phase being 0.7 petabytes, with the ability to increase as need/demand grows.
The new data center infrastructure will provide secure and available data center services across the country and improve online information needed for seamless research and programming. Indeed, data centers, also called supercomputers, have the capacity to store huge volumes of information.
As GBB Limited is committed to continuously investing in improving digital infrastructure and human capabilities to meet the growing and sophisticated demands of government institutions, it has established a fiber connectivity network across the country to enable transparent communication between government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The closer a data center is to a business, the faster the overall internet speed of the business will be. This means that SMEs have a greater commercial progression in this region. Whether it’s sending emails, shopping online, playing video games, or simply browsing social media, every byte of what’s recorded online is stored in a data center. It will also help national security agencies/institutions by storing information in a secure space, rather than with traditional hardware devices.
As GBB Limited is committed to continuously investing in improving digital infrastructure, technology and human capabilities to meet the growing and sophisticated demands of government institutions, it has established a fiber connectivity network across the country to enable seamless communication between Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government. It has redefined virtual collaboration within and between MDAs by facilitating e-government through the unified communication service.
The GBB has completed the second phase of the e-Government Master Plan, titled “Building the Foundations for Digital Governance in Nigeria (2022-2026), and engages the private sector to improve social impact and outreach to businesses and Nigerian individuals While predicting its progress, Muhammad Bello Abubakar, Managing Director/CEO of GBB Limited, noted that the agency has a fiber optic backbone network stretching over 2,500 kilometers and a Abuja Metro’s fiber optic network spanning over 1,500 kilometers, which is growing rapidly.
To deepen the reach of mobile connectivity, GBB Limited currently operates 18 active base stations in Abuja, Bwari, Zuba, Lafiya, Enugu, Owerri, Kano and Kaduna, with 30 more being installed across the country. The agency has continued to provide infrastructure for virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings since May 2020 and has deployed more than 18,000 IP phones for seamless and cost-free collaboration among MDAs.
In the final analysis, I can only urge GBB Limited to continue all efforts for stronger synergy and meaningful engagements with government institutions and private sector stakeholders to ensure the efficient use of data centers and other technological innovation infrastructure to foster the development and growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Zeenat Sambo writes from Abuja.
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