A four-step plan to fix Nigeria’s broken internet

What if the most important lesson for Nigeria’s digital future isn’t coming from a bustling tech hub in Yaba, but from a government program in Washington, D.C.?

It’s a question that drove me to write my latest paper, and it’s one born from a unique vantage point. As a Technical Program Manager at Google, I spend my days navigating the complexities of global network deployments across the Americas. As an ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers) Fellow, I am deep in the world of internet governance—the very architecture of how we connect. I have seen, up close, how a nation can build and sustain a digital ecosystem. And I have seen what works.

In the United States, a program called the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has quietly transformed access to digital services. By offering subsidies that reduce the cost of internet service for low-income families, it has enrolled over 18.5 million households, preventing an estimated $33 billion in GDP loss by simply getting students online. It’s a powerful idea: if you want people to join the digital world, you must make it affordable for them to open the door.

From my perspective, this story of targeted intervention is more than just an interesting case study; it holds a vital lesson. For Nigeria, a nation with one foot in the digital future and the other stuck in infrastructural decay, this American playbook, adapted with Nigerian ingenuity, offers a clear blueprint for finally connecting our nation.

Read also: Condia Insider: Why mobile internet growth is stalling

The great Nigerian paradox

On paper, Nigeria is a digital giant. We have 122.5 million people online. Our population is overwhelmingly young—a generation born with a smartphone in their hands. The swift adoption of mobile money shows a clear appetite for digital services. The potential is dazzling.

× Sponsored

But for millions, this promise remains a frustrating mirage. My research lays bare the stark reality behind the headlines, diagnosing a deep problem I call the “Digital Gulf.” This isn’t a single gap, but a web of interlocking failures that keep the full power of the internet just out of reach.

My work, which involves managing intricate network rollouts, has shown me that infrastructure is everything. And here, we have a staggering deficit. Nigeria’s broadband penetration sits at a stubbornly low 43.53%, a far cry from the 70% target for 2025. This average hides a chasm: a 2022 survey by GSMA revealed that 61% of rural dwellers—some 60 million people—remain completely disconnected.

Then there’s what I call “the power tax.” With an unreliable national grid leaving nearly 100 million people without consistent electricity, the true cost of getting online skyrockets. For every naira spent on a data plan, another is often spent on fuel for a generator just to keep devices charged. Drawing on my background in risk management, it’s clear this hidden cost creates an unsustainable economic barrier, making internet access a luxury.

This forces an over-reliance on mobile networks, which carry over 84% of our internet traffic. While mobile has been a revolutionary force, it’s also a fragile one, a lesson millions learned during last year’s major network outage. It’s a crutch that has, for many, replaced the need for robust, fixed-line infrastructure that allows for data-heavy work, high-quality education, and a secure digital presence—a principle I honed while managing security projects at Apple.

This gulf is deepest along lines of geography and education. Prosperous southern cities are islands of connectivity in a sea of digital scarcity, defining much of the north. Education, the data shows, is the clearest predictor of access.

A blueprint for Nigeria, inspired by global experience

It’s a daunting picture. But my training as a program manager has taught me to translate challenges into strategic solutions. My paper argues passionately against despair, instead laying out a pragmatic, four-part blueprint designed to bridge these divides.

1. A national program for affordable access: The first step is to tackle the cost barrier head-on with a Nigerian version of the ACP—a subsidy covering up to 75% of monthly internet costs for verified low-income households. From a project delivery standpoint, the key is simplicity. This cannot be another bureaucratic nightmare. Eligibility must be clear, and we should leverage existing social welfare programs to find and enrol people.

2. A nationwide push for digital literacy: Getting online is one thing; knowing what to do there is another. This is personal for me. Through my work mentoring young professionals with organisations like CodePath and the MentorMe Collective, I’ve seen that empowerment comes from knowledge, not just access. We must launch a massive digital literacy initiative in partnership with NGOs, community leaders, and the NYSC to train 30 million Nigerians. We can empower our young graduates to become digital evangelists, teaching everything from online safety to using the internet for economic opportunity.

3. The rise of community internet centres: To solve the twin problems of poor infrastructure and unreliable power, the blueprint champions community internet centres in underserved areas. Imagine local libraries and schools fitted with reliable connections, solar panels, and computer terminals. These would be hubs staffed by trained personnel, offering a dependable physical space where the digital world becomes accessible. It’s about fostering community, a principle I believe is as important in tech as it is in life.

4. Content that speaks our language:

Finally, the internet needs to feel like home. We must support the creation of locally relevant online content in Nigeria’s indigenous languages. From educational resources in Hausa to local news in Igbo and agricultural tips in Yoruba, making the internet speak our languages is critical. It transforms the web from a foreign space into a powerful community tool.

This four-pronged approach requires political will and strategic investment. But the cost of inaction is far greater. Leaving millions of Nigerians on the wrong side of the digital gulf is not just a social issue; it’s an economic catastrophe in the making. My career has been about building bridges between teams, technologies, and continents. Now, we must build the most important bridge of all: the one that ensures every Nigerian has a place in our shared digital future.

This article was written by Aderonke Akinbola. Aderonke is a forward-thinking Technical Program Manager at Google, where she navigates the complexities of global network deployments, overseeing intricate projects across North and South America. With a solid foundation in Information Technology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, specialising in Project Management and Cyber Security, Aderonke’s career trajectory is marked by a consistent drive for efficiency and impact.