Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has revealed that the Federal Government is preparing investments in 70,000 telecommunications towers, with over 80 per cent of them to be based in the northern part of the country.
The goal, according to him, is to close the existing connectivity gap and to make Nigeria the most inclusive digital economy in Africa where no community is left behind.
The minister said this on Wednesday in Katsina State during the Arewa Tech Fest 2.0, hosted by the State government.
Tijani also announced that the 90,000 kilometers of fiber optic network, aimed at connecting every corner of Nigeria, remained one of Federal Government’s biggest investments in the digital space.
“Under President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda, we have focus on foundational initiatives that can unlock national productivity.
”One of our biggest investments in the digital space is the 90,000 kilometers of fiber optic network aimed at connecting every corner of the country,” Tijani said.
“This tech festival today is not just an event, it has a strong signal from Katsina, the Arewa states and a signal that Arewa is ready. I therefore challenge participants, particularly the innovators in the room, that you don’t need to move to Lagos or Abuja to be successful,” he said.
Tijani advised young people to showcase their innovations for investors and philanthropists to see what they could do to assist them.
”I therefore challenge participants, particularly the innovators in the room, that you don’t need to move to Lagos or Abuja to be successful, all you need is also not to wait for formation, because all you need is yourself and your formation.
“We are building a Nigeria that works for everyone in a nation where being born in Katsina or Kano is not at the disadvantage but a strategic advantage.
“The future of Nigeria and that of Africa is not being written in the silicon valley of Lagos or Abuja but being written right here today in Katsina,” he said.
One of the participants, Jafar Alabi, advised colleagues to embrace artificial intelligence in their works in order to move forward and not be left behind.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Dr Muttaka Darma, said he expects a lot of positive changes at the end of the festival where participants were expected to develop solutions to lingering socioeconomic and security challenges facing Katsina State.
He noted that the main objective of this festival was to transform Katsina from analog to digital state and to make it a technology driven economy which is obtainable in the developed countries around the world.
