Nigeria’s digital divide leaves rural communities in the dark

*As information usage surges past 3.3 cardinal terabytes successful 3 months

*August unsocial records 1.15 cardinal terabytes — NCC

*Rural communities relationship for little than 25%

By Juliet Umeh

While Nigeria’s cities are buzzing with online activity, from streaming and fiscal exertion to e-learning and distant work, millions of citizens successful interior and agrarian communities stay locked retired of the integer revolution.

Despite the country’s awesome information growth, the disagreement betwixt connected and disconnected Nigerians remains glaring.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigeria recorded 1,152,347.24 terabytes of information usage successful August 2025 alone, a crisp emergence from 1,131,255.90 terabytes successful July and 1,044,073.08 terabytes successful June. In total, the state consumed implicit 3.3 cardinal terabytes of information successful conscionable 3 months, reflecting the accelerated integer enlargement crossed large cities. Yet, this maturation tells lone fractional the story.

Urban dominance and the agrarian integer gap

Available indicators uncover that agrarian communities relationship for little than 25 percent of Nigeria’s full information usage, underscoring a persistent and achy integer gap.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, successful its ICT Access and Usage by Individuals and Households successful Nigeria Report, 2022, lone 23 percent of agrarian Nigerians utilized the internet, compared to much than 60 percent successful municipality centres. This was further reinforced by the GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index, 2023, which showed that agrarian net adoption remains betwixt 20 and 25 percent, portion municipality usage exceeds 60 percent.

These figures suggest that by 2025, cities specified arsenic Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt are liable for arsenic overmuch arsenic 75 to 80 percent of full information consumption, contempt nationwide maturation successful connectivity.

The National Broadband Plan, NBP 2020–2025, had projected 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025, but arsenic of aboriginal 2025, penetration inactive hovered beneath 50 percent, according to the NCC. The shortfall is mostly attributed to constricted connectivity successful agrarian regions, wherever adjacent making a telephone telephone tin beryllium a challenge.

In a authorities similar Abia, the State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, successful March, launched an ambitious statewide integer translation task aimed astatine connecting each communities successful the authorities to reliable net work wrong 9 months. The task known arsenic the Umuahia Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network and Managed Network Services Project, the inaugural marks the archetypal signifier of a broader program to digitise governance and grow broadband entree crossed Abia State.

Executed by IPNX Nigeria, the task involves laying fibre-optic cables crossed nationalist institutions, distributing high-performance integer tools to ministries, departments, and agencies, and installing infrastructure to enactment high-speed information transmission.

Governor Otti explained: “This task volition not lone amended work transportation but besides span the integer disagreement betwixt agrarian and municipality communities. Our extremity is to physique a ‘New Abia’ digitally connected, economically empowered, and globally competitive.”

Despite this effort, successful Isuochi, a farming assemblage successful Umunneochi, Abia State, a schoolteacher, Mrs. Nnenna Okonkwo, shared her frustration:

She said: “We perceive astir 5G and online learning, but here, adjacent 3G struggles to connect. Sometimes, you person to locomotion to a elevation to marque a telephone oregon nonstop a message.”

Similarly, successful Okpoga, Benue State, residents trust connected a azygous web that hardly functions. A trader, Mr. Matthew Abo, lamented: “I person to question respective kilometres conscionable to cheque prices online oregon nonstop a WhatsApp message. We are wholly chopped disconnected from what radical successful the metropolis bask daily.”

For galore of these communities, the integer system that policymakers observe inactive feels similar a distant dream.

Experts pass of increasing inequality

Telecom experts person warned that Nigeria’s increasing integer inequality threatens some economical maturation and societal inclusion.

A broadband argumentation consultant, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwokolo, observed that portion nationalist information depletion is rising, the benefits stay concentrated successful municipality centres.

He said: “The integer disagreement is deepening. If agrarian areas stay unconnected, Nigeria’s information gyration volition lone widen societal and economical inequality. Millions of you...