Written by Olamilekan Toyeeb Abolade, NACOS National President
Mowa Ijasanmi is a university student in southwest Nigeria. She spends as much as ₦18,000 ($50) every month to access the internet. Her time on the internet is spent attending virtual meetings, streaming or downloading lecture videos, and communicating with people. The high cost of data in Nigeria is one of the many challenges Nigerian students like Mowa face.
High Cost of Internet
In terms of usage, Nigerian students and youths are among the highest users of internet services especially those in the IT sector. In a recent survey of 85 countries, Nigeria was reported to have one of the highest costs of internet service globally and in Africa. On the overall analysis of the digital quality of life index in 2020, Nigeria ranked 81st out of 85 countries. To improve the state of the internet, the Nigerian government last year announced it was looking at achieving 70% broadband penetration in four years and digitizing government processes for openness and speed of service delivery. With Nigeria’s internet penetration at almost 50%, achieving this feat looks like a low hanging fruit.