The federal government has announced plans to invest $2 billion to deploy a 90,000km fibre optic project in the country.

The project is designed to expand Nigeria’s fibre optic cable capacity from 35,000km to 125,000km to boost the terrestrial fibre optic backbone.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, stated this on Monday in Kano on the sidelines of a facility tour of the vandalised Digital Innovation Park.

It will be recalled that irate youths vandalised the model park during the nationwide protest in August.

Mr Tijani said the investment would provide meaningful connectivity to communities ensuring that schools, hospitals, government establishments and businesses thrive in a digitally connected environment.

According to him, it will also accelerate growth across critical sectors of the economy including education, health, and agriculture.

The minister noted that in today’s world, technology is the key to unlocking productivity and driving the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. He said many countries faced declining populations, stressing that Africa and Nigeria have the advantage of growing a dynamic workforce.

“This is our moment to become a net exporter of technology talent while also strengthening our own local industries,” he said.

According to Mr Tijani, the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme is a federal government initiative to expose three million Nigerians to digital and technical skills.

He said this aimed to address the growing shortage of skilled digital professionals, software developers, data scientists, and cybersecurity experts, who would be driving innovation and growth.

He said Nigeria’s youthful population was uniquely positioned to fill this gap, with over 300 young people from Kano currently benefiting from the programme as the highest number of participants.

The minister said the IHS Towers would provide support for the vandalised facility’s refurbishment. 

While commending the IHS for its commitment towards rebuilding the park, Mr Tijjani described it as a symbol of Kano and Nigeria’s aspiration to be at the forefront of the global digital economy.

(NAN)