The Vice President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and CEO of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Muhammed Rudman, has warned that Nigeria’s overwhelming reliance on mobile internet is undermining the country’s digital infrastructure and long-term economic growth.
Speaking at the 2025 ATCON Annual General Meeting and NEC Elections held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Rudman revealed that 99.98% of Nigeria’s internet users access the web via mobile, while only 0.2% use fixed connections — a stark contrast to South Africa, where over 50% of users rely on fixed-line broadband.
Rudman lamented that Nigeria is falling behind countries like Brazil, which has empowered over 10,000 local ISPs and now retains 90% of its internet traffic domestically blaming the gap on policy failures and poor coordination between federal and state governments. He warned that efforts to improve digital infrastructure will remain ineffective without strong advocacy and sustained pressure from stakeholders and the media.
Beyond infrastructure, Rudman also highlighted the decay in Nigeria’s education system, accusing the government of neglecting the vital link between education and national development. Citing India and Singapore as models, he noted that Nigeria lacks serious investment in human capital and questioned the relevance of institutions like the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), which he said have failed to impact the telecom sector meaningfully.
To address the crisis, Rudman proposed the establishment of a dedicated ICT Think Tank that would drive education and training reform in partnership with universities. However, he insisted that real progress depends on deliberate action from government leadership. “We should consistently push for government to do the right thing,” he said, warning that Nigeria’s digital economy cannot thrive on mobile access and underdeveloped human capacity alone.