Nigeria Declared Fibre Infrastructure “Nationally Critical.” So Why Are We Still in Digital Chaos?
In 2024, Nigeria made a bold move: signing the Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Order, declaring telecom infrastructure as vital to national security. A year later, the country faces a digital meltdown.
From January to June 2025, Nigeria suffered 349 network outages. That’s 2 breakdowns per day. In May alone? 75 major disruptions. These aren’t small hiccups they are high-impact fibre cuts and power failures, affecting Lagos, Rivers, Borno, and Anambra key states for banking, healthcare, and national commerce.
₦27 Billion Lost and Counting
Fibre cuts aren’t just a technical inconvenience they are economic sabotage.
- ₦5 billion lost in Lagos in 2024 due to 2,500+ fibre cuts.
- Nationwide, ₦27 billion in damages last year alone.
Banking transactions freeze. Voice and data services collapse. Small businesses grind to a halt. Consumer trust? Decimated.
CNII Order: Great Law, Zero Bite
The CNII Order was supposed to criminalize infrastructure sabotage with up to 10-year jail terms for offenders. But implementation is stalling.
Without urgent action, the CNII will go down as another toothless tiger.
Infrastructure vs. Bulldozers: State Governments Join the Battle
Some states are stepping up Niger State waived Right of Way (RoW) fees to help telcos lay more fibre. That’s the kind of progressive governance we need.
But it’s not enough. In May 2025, a Glo fibre line was accidentally severed during road construction, disrupting entire regions. Good intentions can’t fix bulldozer damage.
The Real Danger: Digital Trust is on the Line
Each outage is more than a service failure. It’s a hit to digital trust. And in a cashless, cloud-powered economy, digital trust is everything.
From USSD crashes to data blackouts, the consequences are real. Airtel subscribers in Anambra. Glo users in Abia. Everyone’s affected.
The Way Forward: Hope from MoUs and Consensus
There’s light at the end of the fibre cable.
- MoUs signed between NCC and Ministry of Works to protect lines.
- Stakeholder consensus reached to operationalize the CNII.
But words won’t cut fibre lines execution will.
Financial Juggernut’s Final Take:
“You can’t build a digital economy on a crumbling infrastructure.”
Reliable connectivity is no longer optional it’s economic infrastructure.
If Nigeria wants to compete globally, fibre protection must move from policy to reality.
