Two Years of Purposeful Leadership: Strengthening Nigeria’s Digital Backbone For A Connected Future
By Chidi Okpala
Two years ago, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), appointed a new Executive Management Team at Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and this marked a defining moment in Nigeria’s digital evolution.
Today, as the organisation marks the second anniversary of the appointment of four distinguished Nigerians; Prof. Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Honourable Olusegun Olulade, Executive Director Customer Centricity and Marketing, Muhammed Sani Ibrahim; Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services and Olumbe Akinkugbe, Executive Director, Digital Exploration and Technical Services to Galaxy Backbone Limited, the story is not one of rhetoric, but of infrastructure strengthened, partnerships deepened, and national capability measurably advanced.
From the onset, the mandate was clear: to anchor Nigeria’s digital transformation on secure, sovereign infrastructure while improving service delivery across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
The Executive team immediately aligned execution with strategy through the launch of the Integrated Digital Transformation Strategy (IDTS) 2023 to 2028.
The focus evolved from simply providing connectivity to leading a digital ecosystem that integrates infrastructure, platforms, policy alignment, value creation, and people.
Within two years, Galaxy Backbone significantly expanded national digital access. Broadband connectivity was delivered to nine underserved Local Government Areas under Project 774, extending inclusion to communities previously beyond reliable access.
Fibre-to-Hostel projects were completed at the University of Lagos, University of Abuja, and University of Jos, strengthening academic research and digital learning environments. Connectivity to strategic national assets, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and key Federal Secretariats, was enhanced to improve operational efficiency and service reliability.
In a major step toward long-term resilience, GBB executed strategic business partnership with one of Africa’s leading provider of inter-connected carrier scale digital Infrastructure Companies, West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), reinforcing Nigeria’s national fibre backbone, improving redundancy, and enabling scalable broadband expansion across more states and underserved communities.
This strategic move significantly strengthened the country’s digital resilience architecture.
Beyond infrastructure expansion, the leadership deepened Nigeria’s sovereign digital capabilities. The 1Government Cloud platform was optimized and expanded to support more MDAs with operational efficiency, secure hosting and shared services. GovMail, a locally developed email solution by GBB, for Federal Government Public and Civil Servants was birthed and today is enhancing trusted government communication for over 100,000 professionals currently on the platform.
Cybersecurity posture was reinforced through 24/7 monitoring and strengthened controls, while colocation services and data centre operations were upgraded for greater resilience. Under this leadership, GBB’s Service desk now operates 24/7, 365 days a year. The deployment of Government as a Platform (GaaP) framework, improvements to the Government Service Portal, ISO recertification milestones and the implementation of an Integrated Management System (IMS) further institutionalized governance, accountability, and operational excellence.
The journey has not been without challenges. Fiscal constraints, legacy systems, increasing cyber threats, and rising expectations for digital public services required decisive leadership. Through disciplined financial management, strategic partnerships, stronger stakeholder engagement, and operational reforms, the Executive Management stabilised systems, improved service quality, and positioned Galaxy Backbone as a trusted enabler of public sector transformation.
Support from the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Dr. George Akume who chairs the GBB Board, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson Jack and other top Government leaders across the arms of Government, have all been instrumental in aligning policy direction with execution momentum, ensuring that national priorities translate into tangible digital outcomes.
Over the past two years, Galaxy Backbone has earned over 20 reputable recognitions, including the NET5.5G Pioneer Award, the inaugural Artificial Intelligence Award, the Overall Winner award at the Nigeria @ 65 Independence Kitty, the BPSR Website Performance Award, and Best ICT Provider Company of the Year at the International Standard Excellence Awards and so on.
GBB’s MD/CEO, Prof. Adeyanju has also been named as one of the top 100 leading Personalities in the Telecoms Industry in Nigeria. These honours reflect not just institutional visibility, but measurable transformation in governance standards, infrastructure resilience, and service delivery impact.
Two years on, Galaxy Backbone stands stronger — not merely as an infrastructure provider, but as a strategic custodian of Nigeria’s sovereign digital backbone. With clarity of vision, disciplined execution, and sustained collaboration across government, the organisation continues to deepen connectivity, strengthen cybersecurity, expand cloud sovereignty, and build a resilient digital foundation for national development.
The progress achieved affirms a simple truth: purposeful leadership, aligned with national vision and supported by strategic partnerships, can translate ambition into enduring capability. Galaxy Backbone remains committed to powering a secure, connected, and digitally enabled Nigeria for generations to come.