The Galaxy Backbone Limited GBB, is strategizing towards making Nigeria an enabler of digital inclusion for Africa.
This was one of the outcome of the 2021 Management Retreat of Galaxy Backbone Limited in Gombe State, North East Nigeria.
The retreat was to strengthen concentrated discussion, dialogue, and strategic thinking to drive the National digital economy policy.
The gathering also had the presence of the governor, His Excellency, Governor Inuwa Yahaya represented by His Deputy, Manassah Daniel Jatau.
In his remarks the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Dr. Isa Pantami, stressed the importance of exploration, long-time strategic thinking, and customer-centricity.
Dr. Pantami said, “Innovation is the key to success “adding that Galaxy Backbone as a government-owned company needs to engage in exploration, maintaining that consistently repeating the same thing over and over again will not make the company successful”
“I would like to encourage all the Management Team of Galaxy Backbone to support the Managing Director to ensure that GBB continues to innovate such that the perceived and yet to be perceived needs of the customer come first. It is my hope that after this retreat, GBB will adopt the exploration rather than exploitation approach in its long-term critical thinking such that the nation will have a new branded Galaxy Backbone,” the Minister reiterated.
He informed that within one year as the supervising minister of the government-owned company, he has addressed over 90 percent of the challenges facing the company over 12 years, ranging from low patronage, poor funding, obsolete infrastructures, and uncoordinated management team, among others.
In his welcome address, the Managing Director Professor Muhammad-Bello Abubakar, company restated GBB’s commitment to provide quality service delivery in the area of Infrastructure and shared services platform for the Digital Economy Strategy
He highlighted the achievements of GBB in the past one year noting that the vision of the GBB remains “to become a leading enabler of digital inclusion for Africa.”
Professor Abubakar said in the next years (2021-2025), the services of the Galaxy Backbone will be driven by excellence and a customer centric mindset.
He recognized that the successes made were greatly because of the support of the Minister, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami “Galaxy Backbone has in the last one year, with the support of the Honourable Minister, risen to the challenges of the global Covid-19 pandemic by providing digital and network communication services to Federal Government offices and homes of top Government functionaries which has allowed effective Government business continuity while obeying Covid-19 protocols of social distancing and remote working. This also made possible the continuous virtual meetings of the Federal Executive Council” Professor Abubakar explained
The GBB Boss further stated that the Minister has set the policy direction for Galaxy Backbone through the Digital Economy Policy and Strategy document, hence the need for the management retreat to strategize on how to execute it.
OUTCOME
This 2021 Management retreat of the Galaxy Backbone deliberated on a five-year business plan anchored on six strategic pillars of: 1. Government Policies, 2. Data Sovereignty, 3. Financial Sustainability, 4. Customer Satisfaction, 5. Operational Excellence, and 6. Improved Capacity and Capability.
Adequate initiatives and strategies have been developed around these pillars to ensure GBB provides effective, efficient and reliable high speed connectivity services across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Government and the entire nation, which will help in deepening broadband penetration and adding greater value for a digital Nigeria and beyond.
He noted that Dr. Pantami’s presence at the commencement of this 2021 retreat showed his greater commitment to the digitalization of Nigeria and the Federal Government believe on the Galaxy Backbone’s capability to provide digital services to Government institutions across the country and deliver on the implementation of the Digital transformation drive of the nation. The GBB Boss stated.
Professor Abubakar appreciated the Staff of GBB whom he described as “the organization’s assets, for their efforts and promised that he will continue to do all it takes within his capacity to ensure that GBB’s internal and external stakeholders and customers receive improved and committed digital services such that GBB becomes ICT service provider of choice” He added
Galaxy Backbone is an organization under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy which plays a fundamental role in providing the Infrastructure and shared services platform for the Digital Economy Strategy and Policy on one hand and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan on another; both projects are being championed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
The four-day retreat was driven by stakeholder (both internal and external) and Industry perspectives to ensure that Galaxy Backbone prepared itself adequately for the challenges and opportunities of not just the Covid-19 era but also the digital transformational changes going on in Nigeria and across the world
Dominica Nwabufo
