General News
Undersea Cables and Nigeria’s Cloudy Mobile Ecosystem
“Plenty water for Africa…water for ordinary man to drink nko o…e nor dey.”
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the late Afrobeat music legend was apt in his hit track: ‘water nor get enemy’. There is so much water around us in Nigeria, yet there is not a single city in the country that boast of sufficient drinkable water for the citizens.
The Nigeria communications landscape is gradually becoming like the ‘water’ legend with so much bandwidth available, yet it’s easier to board a Lagos-Abuja bound night bus than opening an email account in Lagos.
With the landing of the first private open access undersea cable in June 2010, the expectations were that the days of snail speed internet connection from the unreliable SAT-3 would be over. SAT-3 had served its tenure, but with explosion of communications in Nigeria as a result of the new open market operations, the yearning to have addition infrastructure became loud.
Ms. Funke Opeke, a former executive of Verizon Wireless returned to Nigeria from the United States full of hopes and energy. She worked at MTN Nigeria and later Nitel/Mtel with mindset to turn around the public telecom giant into live. It did not work out, and her next project was MainOne undersea cable. MainOne is a novel idea to get people communicating effectively by providing them with enough bandwidth.
MainOne has initial capacity to deliver 1.92tb/ps of bandwidth and everyone said it has enough capacity to serve Nigeria’s broadband requirements.
Globacom also landed a massive 2.5tb/ps capacity Glo-1 undersea cable, also promising to deliver Nigeria from its epileptic bandwidth challenge. The combination of the two cable systems have more than enough bandwidth capacity to deliver fast internet connectivity…but what do we have, poor services. Just like in the days of SAT-3.
The expected landing of the 5.1Tbps WACS cable system would even give more verve to Nigeria’s bandwidth capacity which some say could lead to glut. But it doesn’t seem so easy.
Bandwidth is outrageously priced in Nigeria. Ms. Opeke had stated at public function that the cost of bandwidth from London (UK) to Lagos was about 10 times cheaper than it cost to carry the same capacity from Lagos to the capital, Abuja in the North of the country.
At the heart of this seemingly intractable debacle is the dearth of transmission infrastructure in Nigeria. The old Nitel infrastructure inherited from the defunct post and telecommunications (P & T) department of the Ministry of Communications are all decayed due to poor maintenance. Nigeria is notorious for its lack of maintenance culture in both public and private institutions.
Nigeria has tried desperately to enter into the digital age, but appears to be going round the circus in what appears an unending trek. There has to be a balance in the digital ecosystem to build a successful digital society.
These would include inculcating the right education to the population from the very early nursery age. But nursery is still elitist in Nigeria where primary school enrolment is far below the United Nations recommendation.
Nigeria’s performance in the 2011 Connectivity Scorecard was quite dreadful – finishing in the same bracket with Bangladesh. Areas of concern raised include weak public institutions and poor literacy level.
“Nigeria scores 1.09 and retains the 23rd position among the resource and efficiency-driven economies on the Connectivity Scorecard 2011 index. With this score, Nigeria continues to rank among the bottom five countries along with India, Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh.
“The public sector is another area where Nigeria exhibits poor performance, featuring in the bottom-five of the resource and efficiency-driven economies. Though the infrastructure component is relatively higher, indicating that there may be online services available, Nigeria suffers from gross inefficient utilization. This can be attributed to either a lack of resources or unaffordability that most Nigerians face, thus bringing down its score on this metric. The country also posts a relatively lower literacy rate of around 70 per cent.”
Building a successful digital fibre ring to carry the glut of bandwidth in the shores of Lagos would require a concerted effort by both the public and private sectors to finance. The private sector has already taken the lead in this regard by landing these fibres, the government would have to do its beat by either providing grants or guaranteeing long tenure bank facilities to these private investors to take the next step forward.
Camille Mendler, blogger with Informa notes that “being a successful digital society still means keeping a delicate ecosystem in balance. That ecosystem includes many elements – and it’s not just submarine cables. Terrestrial fiber, spectrum, Internet exchange points and datacenters are among the telecom assets also required. But that is certainly not all. Affordable devices, ICT literacy and investment, rule of law and many other factors are highly relevant.”
Nigeria would also need to bring down mobile TCO (total cost of ownership) down considerably if it must remain competitive. At present Nigeria’s TCO is valued at about $10 per subscriber per month which three times more than in Kenya. Despite the huge market potentials here, more ICT firms are finding it easier to domicile their African hub either in South Africa or Kenya – Nigeria hardly comes to the picture.
General News
EFCC Detains Ayeni, Ex-Skye Bank Chairman over Alleged N36.5Bn, $30m Fraud

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has detained Tunde Ayeni, former chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc, for alleged fraud involving N36.5 billion and $30 million.

Tunde Ayeni, former chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc,
This follows the probe of alleged diversion of N36.5 billion and $30 million secured as loans from Polaris Bank Plc through companies linked to Ayeni.
He was arrested by EFCC operatives in Abuja on April 23, 2026, and is still been held in custody as at the time of filling the report.
Dele Oyewale, spokesperson, EFCC, confirmed the arrest on Friday but declined to provide further details.
Ayeni is under investigation for diverting funds obtained for marine security, electricity distribution, and real estate projects into other unknown projects.
Investigators allege the loans were instead channelled into telecom investments tied to NITEL/MTEL assets via a NATCOM account.
About 12 firms believed to be connected to Ayeni are also under investigation for their role in securing the loans.
The EFCC is expected to file charges once the investigation is concluded.
General News
Summit Factory Opens in Ogun, Targets Hygiene Market Expansion

Summit Household Solutions Limited has opened its ultra-modern manufacturing facility in Ota, Ogun State, as part of its efforts to scale production of home and personal care products in Nigeria.

The plant, which started operations in April 2025, produces items such as dishwashing liquids, handwash, sanitisers and multipurpose liquid soaps, with an annual capacity estimated at 7,000 tonnes.
Commissioning the facility on behalf of Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Investment, Mr Kehinde Akintomide, said the investment reflects growing confidence in Ogun State’s business environment.
He noted that the state hosts over 6,000 manufacturing firms and described the development as consistent with ongoing efforts to promote industrialisation, attract investment and reduce reliance on imports under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope initiative.
Akintomide disclosed that the factory has already employed more than 50 Nigerians, with projections to exceed 250 jobs as operations expand.
In his remarks, the General Manager of the company, Mr Sadiq Ali, said the facility represents a major step in Summit’s growth plans, adding that its flagship brand, 2Sure, currently leads production at the plant.
He also revealed that the company is preparing to introduce new home and personal care products later this year.
Summit Household Solutions manufactures the 2Sure brand and has expanded into the personal care segment with Lewar, a premium beauty soap line positioned for quality and affordability.
Among dignitaries present were the Onikotun of Otun, Ota, Oba Abdulakeem Odunaro, representing the Olota of Ota, Prof. Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege; the Agba Akin of Ota, Chief Dada Olusola; Director of Investment, Ms Yemisi Folarin; Director of Industrial Promotion, Mr Femi Adeboye; former Managing Director of 7Up Bottling Company, Mr Ziad Maalouf; and the Chief Executive Officer of OmniRetail, Mr Deepanker Rustagi.
Speaking at the event, Maalouf, who conceived the 2Sure brand during his time at 7Up Bottling Company, expressed satisfaction with its growth and commended Summit Solutions Limited for advancing the brand.
The special guests were conducted around the facility, and the programme was concluded with a luncheon.
General News
Airtel Africa Foundation Calls for Applications for “DigiLeap” Tech Training for Young Women

The Airtel Africa Foundation, through Airtel Nigeria, has officially opened the application portal for the DigiLeap Tech Drive, a core initiative in the Foundation’s digital inclusion agenda. The application portal will be open until 8th May 2026.

Targeting 200 underserved young women in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State, the programme is designed to bridge the gender divide in the digital economy by providing intensive, industry-standard technical and digital literacy training at no cost to the beneficiaries.
The DigiLeap Tech Drive is a strategic collaboration between the Airtel Africa Foundation, the ISHK Tolaram Foundation, and Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), with implementation carried out by the SAIL Innovation Lab, a leading centre for digital talent development in Nigeria.
Strategically engineered to transform high-potential individuals into workforce-ready professionals, this high-impact project will provide technical instruction, mentorship, and job-placement linkages, directly tackling regional unemployment and the systemic underrepresentation of women in the global technology sector.
Commenting on the project, Dr Segun Ogunsanya, Chairman of the Airtel Africa Foundation, emphasised that the partnership between the Foundation, Ishk Tolaram, and CcHub is central to the Foundation’s holistic mission of advancing both digital and gender inclusion across the continent.
“Our mission at the Airtel Africa Foundation is to accelerate digital inclusion across the continent,” he said. “By bringing the DigiLeap Tech Drive to the women of Ikorodu alongside Ishk Tolaram and CcHub, we are providing 200 young women with a definitive competitive advantage in the modern economy. This initiative ensures the digital revolution is truly inclusive; it isn’t merely a training session, but a professional pipeline designed to transition these women directly into internships and sustainable careers.”
In his remarks on the flag-off, Dinesh Balsingh, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, highlighted Airtel’s dedication to ensuring that women are integrated into the country’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
“At Airtel Nigeria, we believe that empowering women with digital skills is a fundamental catalyst for national economic growth. With the DigiLeap tech training, we are creating a sustainable pathway for young women in underserved communities to move from the sidelines of the digital economy into the heart of the tech workforce. This initiative reflects our deep-rooted commitment to social impact and our belief that when women lead in technology, entire communities thrive,” he said.
Focusing on industry-standard competencies that enhance both employability and entrepreneurship readiness, application entry into the programme is now live and open to women aged 18–35 living in Ikorodu.
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