Prof Ibrahim Adeyanju, Managing Director/CEO, Galaxy Backbone
Prof Ibrahim Adeyanju was appointed in February 2024 to head Galaxy Backbone Nigeria Limited, a Federal Government owned information and communication technology service provider mandated to operate, improve and upgrade its common service platform to meet international standards. The young vibrant Professor of Computer Engineering, before his appointment worked was Executive Director, Digital Exploration and Technical Services at the company. His appointment the man the helm of the company brings to bear extensive experience from previous roles at Federal University Oye-Ekiti and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Ibrahim Adeyanju holds a 2007 – 2011 PhD in Computing at The Robert Gordon University. He has proficiency in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Research, and Artificial Intelligence, Data Analysis, Programming, Genetic Algorithms, Matlab, and Lecturing among others.
In line with President Tinubu led Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to revolutionize Nigeria’s digital landscape and enhance economic development, Prof Adeyanju leadership saw a strong commitment to creating a more efficient and agile public sector through world class information and communication technology services. This commitment was focused on deploying and adopting cutting-edge digital solutions and services across government entities.
Prof Adeyanju as CEO of Galaxy Backbone (GBB) continues to drive the 1Government Cloud solution—a combination of Infrastructure and Software as a Service (IaaS and SaaS) frameworks. This solution was specifically designed to provide Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) with the software and secure data storage necessary for their operations, all through a standardized, unified interface. This approach aligns with best practices and supports the Federal Civil Service Strategy Implementation Plan 2025 (FCSSIP 25). 1Government Cloud was a robust, secure cloud computing platform tailored for the Nigerian government and its agencies. It enables efficient service delivery, improved productivity, and enhanced citizen engagement by leveraging cloud technology.
Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju continued to emphasize and promote the importance of collaboration with key players to ensure the successful digitalization of government processes. He stated, “The objectives of the 1Government Cloud solution around Data Sovereignty, Data Security, and uniformity across Federal Government MDAs should be emphasized as the most reliable path towards sustainability of government processes.” Data localization is crucial, as many advanced nations highlight it as essential for protecting citizens’ data.
The ongoing deployment of the 1Government Cloud solution across various MDAs showcased the benefits of system interoperability, which leads to greater effectiveness and streamlined human resources and document management. This deployment also enhances citizen engagement.
The project aims to foster data localization, stimulate public-private partnerships, and support broader economic development goals through digital innovations in:
Enterprise Content Management
Performance Management
Learning Management
Inter-MDA Communication
File Sharing
Asset Management
Conferencing
E-Signing
Galaxy Backbone acts as an enabler, platform, and aggregator of digital services, providing world-class solutions to both public and private sector organizations. It is dedicated to driving digital transformation and improving efficiency and effectiveness through innovative technology solutions.
In August 2024, Prof Adeyanju led management of Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Nigeria’s digital transformation company achieved Uptime Tier IV certification for its second data center, making it the first data center in Nigeria to obtain the Tier IV design and facility certifications. This accomplishment signified that GBB Data Center’s design and facilities meet the highest international standards, ensuring high reliability and availability. It also strengthened GBB’s capability to provide cloud, disaster recovery and business continuity services to organizations in both the public and private sectors. Furthermore, this milestone accelerates Nigeria’s digital transformation and accelerates the nation’s journey towards becoming one of the leading digital economies across the African continent. Uptime Tier certification was one of the world’s most authoritative data center rating systems. The certification system ranged from Tier I to Tier IV, with Tier IV being the highest. It encompassed three dimensions: design, facility, and operations. Tier IV data centers offer the highest level of redundancy and fault tolerance, achieving an availability of 99.995%.
The global digital economy is booming. As Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, Nigeria has been promoting the digital economy. Recent initiatives include the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2020–2030 and the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025. These efforts aim to accelerate digital infrastructure construction, increase broadband penetration, narrow the digital divide, and promote sustainable economic growth.
Established by the Federal Government of Nigeria, GBB provides ICT facilities and services for government ministries, departments, and agencies, and is responsible for building and operating the National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB), a fiber optic network that spans the country and has connected nearly 30 states with high-speed fiber connectivity. In phases 1 and 2 of the project, data centers were built in Abuja and Kano, respectively, to meet growing network demands.
Prof Adeyanju is one CEO who came to the job with his sleeves folded for relentless result oriented leadership that proved in the last eight months that Nigeria could take its place in the global community of efficient and effective governance with information and communication technology services.