Amid the global economy’s shift towards digitization, no nation can afford to neglect either the implementation or investment in this sector. Consequently, when Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) was established in 2006 as a government-owned public enterprise under the Federal Government of Nigeria, its mission was clearly outlined: to create and manage a unified Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure platform that caters to the connectivity, cross-cutting, and other technological needs of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) within the Federal Government. Additionally, GBB was tasked with operating a nationwide network backbone to enhance digital inclusion in underserved regions and rural communities, aligning with the Federal Government’s objectives.
In this endeavor, GBB takes the lead in advancing the Federal Government’s Digital Economy agenda, utilizing ICT to stimulate economic growth, job creation, and the improvement of living standards for Nigerians. The company has successfully established crucial ICT infrastructure services, including connectivity, hosting, and security, for both private and public sector entities.
Muhammad Bello Abubakar, a Gombe-born professor of petroleum geosciences, assumed the role of Managing Director/CEO in 2020. Previously, he played key roles in founding and developing the National Centre for Petroleum Research and Development of the Energy Commission of Nigeria. His innovative research efforts contributed to the conceptual exploration model used in successful oil and gas exploration in Northeast Nigeria. Abubakar is a research consultant to NNPC and an alumnus of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, holding B. Tech in Applied Geology and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Sedimentology/Petroleum Geology. He received various awards, including the National University Commission’s best Ph.D. thesis award in physical sciences in 2006.
Abubakar’s leadership skills were quickly put to the test when he assumed office in January 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic lockdown. This challenging environment prompted the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to rapidly develop digital platforms for sustaining the economy. In response, GBB collaborated with the ministry to launch virtual interaction platforms, ensuring seamless communication and collaboration across government levels and functions, even at the federal executive level. Connectivity was extended to key government officials’ residences, enabling effective pandemic management.
Prior to Professor Abubakar’s tenure, GBB faced various challenges, including an inefficient organizational structure that hindered decision-making processes and overall effectiveness.
· A disconnect from national digital objectives and policies resulting into activities that are not aligned with the supervisory ministry;
· Poor liquidity positions and indebtedness to suppliers and other third parties for supplies and other services;
· Poor revenue drive leading to low revenues;
· A generally poor working environment that is unconducive to productivity resulting into demotivation of employees;
· Poor human resource capacity resulting in the company unable to run its operations effectively;
· Ageing service infrastructure that is unable to deliver competitive services to customers;
· Limited storage capacity that made it difficult to provide services effectively which impact on its ability to meet customer needs;
· Sub-optimal LAN infrastructure at MDAs affecting their ability to optimize GBB-provided services; and
· Poor quality of service which negatively impacted its reputation and ability to retain customers.
Undoubtedly, within just three years and a few months under Abubakar’s leadership at GBB, a series of significant accomplishments have been achieved in the execution of pivotal initiatives such as the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), and Nigerian eGovernment Master Plan, among others. Prof. Abubakar introduced inventive strategies to GBB’s procurement procedures, resulting in a remarkable expansion of the organization’s bandwidth capacity, enhancing both competitiveness and cost-efficiency.
An area where GBB has made exceptional progress is in the establishment of noteworthy data centers across various regions of the country.
· On December 20, 2022, the National Shared Services Centre (NSSC) was officially inaugurated in Abuja. This center, housing the nation’s TIER 3 Data storage facility, is positioned to serve as a vital and strategic resource for stakeholder organizations in both the public and private sectors. Subsequently, on January 30, 2023, the TIER 4 National Data Centre and the Northwest Zonal and Marketing Office commenced full operations. The Kano Data Centre functions as a backup to the Abuja facility. This forms a major component of Phase 2 of the National Information Communications Infrastructure (NICTIB) Project, which was initiated in 2021. This project aims to connect all 36 Nigerian states through ICT infrastructure, powering the nation’s digital economy. The expansion’s forward-looking objectives encompass enhancing GBB’s presence and services across all locations by ensuring proximity to GBB Points of Infrastructure Presence, facilitating project implementation, boosting revenue generation by leveraging GBB infrastructure assets, tapping into untapped opportunities from NICTIB projects nationwide, and providing technical support to locations consuming GBB services, thus ensuring customer satisfaction and minimizing service disruptions.
· On 17 March 2023, the Galaxy Backbone limited (GBB) North East Zonal and Marketing Office was launched in Gombe. According to Prof. Abubakar, the launch marked “another landmark in the nation’s journey towards establishing world-class digital infrastructure and ensuring that the country has a robust and reliable digital economy for the greater benefit of today’s and tomorrow’s generations, through deliberate, painstaking and concerted efforts.” This Zonal and Marketing Office also houses the Safe City infrastructure that will form a seed for Gombe to function as a Smart City.
Through the establishment of in-country data centres. Under Abubakar’s leadership, Galaxy Backbone made possible for Federal Government to recoup several billions of naira lost to hosting data outside Nigeria.
Abubakar is very clear where he plans to place the organisation in the next five years. He has rolled out a strategic business plan underpinned by six strategic pillars, which are government priorities, data sovereignty, financial sustainability, customer satisfaction, operational excellence and improved capacity.
The goals and the roadmap are tailored towards supporting the key policies of the federal government under the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
Enhancing operational efficiency was his key consideration in view of which he reviewed the organisation structure of GBB to sharpen its value delivery channels to all stakeholders across the value chain from engagement and planning to implementation and support.
Abubakar has introduced functional units and departments for accelerated realisation of the objectives. He has come up with a number of initiatives to drive value improvement, recharge operating agility, rationalise costs and improve the quality of services.
These initiatives span various aspects, including addressing discrepancies in technical and financial procedures, enhancing human resources and skill development approaches, all with the intent to realign GBB for enhanced service to the government and the country. Additionally, a range of endeavors are being carried out to foster collaboration and partnerships with stakeholders, encompassing public institutions, MDAs’ clients, suppliers, and channel partners. Notably, three specific domains targeted for this purpose are cybersecurity, cloud computing, and extending e-Connectivity to small offices, home offices (SOHO), residential estates, and private enterprises.
Under his leadership, the organization is pursuing ambitious short, medium, and long-term objectives, with key highlights including:
· Increasing the revenue-base of the organisation, especially from internally-generated revenue sources to ensure self-sustainability in two years;
· Bringing on-board the GBB network the services of all the MDAs in four years;
· Developing transversal applications and automation of all government processes for majority of MDAs to support attainment of their mandates over the same period;
· developing GBB’s infrastructure for the whole country in five years; and
· Making GBB a partner/competitor to all ICT providers primarily in Nigeria and in Africa, especially West Africa, in five years.
The strategic thinker that he is, he has a vision to reposition GBB internally and externally to attract new markets. He has raised Brand Ambassadors within and outside the organisation that will champion a customer-centric experience and the renewed objectives of the organisation around Galaxy 3.0.
He is determined to match and surpass the level of ICT growth in the Country in terms of digital infrastructure spread, broadband penetration and the growth of the nation’s Digital Economy. He aims to build a strong brand that can compete on the African and Global stage. These led to the decision of the MD and the Management to embark on a Rebranding exercise which is about to birth a ‘New Galaxy Backbone’ that will highlight where it came from, celebrate the future it seeks, enhance its reputation within the market and make it more attractive to stakeholders globally.
By knowledge and experience, Abubakar is generally endorsed as the man whose shoes fit perfectly at Galaxy Backbone. Indeed, he is an example of how deploying square pegs in square holes leads to harvests of success stories. His academic credentials combine with over two decades of working experience spanning the academia, oil and gas exploration research, development and innovation institutions and strong leadership and management skills equip him with requisite leadership tools.
