In a bid to safeguard Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure from an onslaught of fiber cuts, equipment theft, and vandalism, the country’s telecom operators have united to form an Industry Working Group dedicated to its protection.

The initiative unveiled following a high-level stakeholder meeting hosted by IHS Nigeria at its Lagos headquarters, underscores the industry’s escalating operational challenges— which contributed to the recent contentious 50% tariff hike aimed at offsetting spiraling costs.

The Working Group, established under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), emerged from a gathering of industry leaders, regulators, and law enforcement agencies. According to a statement from the operators, the coalition was forged in recognition of telecommunications as the linchpin of national security, economic growth, and social cohesion—a vital asset now under relentless threat.

The Industry Working Group is tasked with confronting a raft of industry scourges: vandalism and theft of telecom assets, arbitrary shutdowns of base stations, fiber cuts triggered by road construction, and unauthorized access to sites by individuals. To counter these, the group will deploy advanced technology for real-time monitoring and protection, bolster security around telecom installations, and forge partnerships with security and regulatory agencies to clamp down on offenders.

Beyond enforcement, the initiative prioritizes public awareness, with plans for campaigns to sensitize host communities and the broader populace on the need to safeguard these critical assets.

Dapo Otunla, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria, praised the effort as a long-overdue response to a festering crisis.

“The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders,” Otunla said. “We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact on the quality of service delivered to subscribers. Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations.”

His remarks lay bare the toll of unchecked vandalism: degraded service quality, mounting repair bills, and a digital ecosystem teetering on the brink.

The Working Group’s formation comes as Nigerian telecom operators grapple with a perfect storm of operational hurdles, with infrastructure damage driving up costs at an alarming rate. Industry insiders point to fiber cuts—sometimes occurring multiple times daily—as a prime culprit, alongside the theft of equipment like generators and copper cables.

These incidents have forced companies to pour billions of naira into repairs and replacements, a burden compounded by soaring fuel prices, currency depreciation, and regulatory fees. This financial strain was a key driver behind the 50% tariff hike approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in early 2025, a move operators defended as essential to their survival but which sparked widespread backlash from consumers facing economic hardship.

The tariff hike, while shoring up operator revenues, has intensified public scrutiny of the industry’s inability to curb infrastructure threats, making the Working Group’s mission all the more urgent.

A Push to Enforce CNII Protections

The initiative also reflects a proactive push by telecom firms to breathe life into the government’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) policy, which has languished despite high-profile endorsements. In August 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the ‘Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024,’ classifying telecom assets as CNII and criminalizing their willful destruction.

Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, lauded the gazette as a “significant step” to bolster ICT investments. Yet, it mirrors an earlier, toothless effort: in June 2020, then-Minister Dr. Isa Pantami announced a similar designation by former President Muhammadu Buhari, complete with directives for physical safeguards. That pronouncement failed to halt the daily vandalism plaguing the sector, exposing a persistent enforcement gap the Working Group now seeks to close.

The stakes extend far beyond balance sheets. Nigeria’s $75.6 billion telecom sector is the lifeblood of its digital economy, powering mobile banking, e-commerce, and remote education—sectors pivotal to the nation’s growth ambitions. Yet, infrastructure damage threatens to derail these gains, disrupting connectivity and saddling operators with costs that ripple through the economy.

The recent tariff hike, while a lifeline for telecoms, risks pricing out low-income users, widening the digital divide at a time when broadband penetration remains a national priority under the 2020-2025 National Broadband Plan.

For the Working Group, success could stabilize an industry on edge, curbing losses, improving service reliability, and easing pressure on consumer wallets. Failure, however, could entrench a cycle of rising costs and declining trust, with vandals and thieves holding Nigeria’s digital future hostage.

Good People, there is no more career in many (professional) agencies. If you are working in advertising production, making images for companies, creating videos for clients, producing marketing materials, etc, I have an alert: FIND ANOTHER JOB. Because those domains will be disintermediated by AI within three years. The likelihood that your company will need just a few of the current employee capacity is certain.

(Sure, that finding a new job could mean re-train or upgrade your skill to survive in the new era. In other words, relearn to be ahead of that AI which is coming after your paycheck.)

Also, if you work in a company where your job is doing most of those things, rethink your career because your company will come after that unit very soon.

A few years ago, I was working in a bank’s IT department, helping to install and assemble computing systems. Quickly, I noticed that one does not even need a degree to do those things as young men in Computer Village Lagos were doing the same thing better. That was when I decided to return back to electronics as the risk on the job (assembling IT systems) was high. I reasoned that in electronics, they would need to go to college, understand calculus and transistors, etc to be in positions to design systems. That has turned out well.

So, do not just wait there without having a strategic career evaluation as AI  penetrates into economies and industrial sectors.

I made the image above with AI. It took me 3 seconds to simply describe what I needed. Before the AI age, I would have needed an extremely  great artist and he would need at least 3-4 days for this quality. I am not sure why a company will need many people in many areas when you can hire AI to do most things!

BUA Foods Plc has delivered unprecedented financial performance for its 2024 fiscal year, crossing the trillion-naira revenue mark for the first time while recording significant profit growth across all product segments.

The company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, show revenue of N1.527 trillion—more than double the N729.4 billion recorded in 2023, highlighting the growth potential of Nigeria’s food market.

This 109.5% year-on-year surge represents the highest annual revenue since BUA Foods was listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in 2021. The company’s pre-tax profit also skyrocketed by 162.9% to N284.32 billion, while profit after tax jumped 137.3% to N265.99 billion. However, BUA Foods faced headwinds, including a staggering N178 billion exchange loss due to the depreciation of the naira, which drove up interest obligation costs.

The company attributes its strong performance to sustained demand for its core products—sugar, flour, and pasta—along with strategic pricing, deeper market penetration, and increased production capacity. These factors enabled BUA Foods to boost its margins despite Nigeria’s challenging economic climate.

Flour Segment Leads Revenue Surge

While sugar remains BUA Foods’ highest-selling product, its flour segment emerged as a major revenue driver, growing by an impressive 171% year-on-year. The flour business contributed over N541 billion in 2024, accounting for 35.5% of total sales—up from 27.4% the previous year.

The surge in flour sales is linked to rising demand from Nigeria’s bakery industry and small-scale food enterprises that rely on locally produced flour. In anticipation of this growing demand, BUA Foods expanded its flour production lines in late 2023, a move that has now yielded substantial financial rewards.

Sugar sales, which have traditionally been the backbone of the company’s operations, contributed N734.5 billion, making up 48% of the total revenue. However, its share of total sales declined slightly, signaling a gradual diversification of BUA Foods’ revenue base.

The company’s pasta segment also continued its upward trajectory, bringing in N197 billion—12.9% of total revenue. The demand for BUA’s branded pasta products has remained strong, particularly among price-conscious consumers seeking alternatives to imported brands.

Local Market Dominance and Higher Dividends

BUA Foods’ dominance in Nigeria’s consumer goods market was further solidified in 2024, with domestic sales accounting for 95.5% of total revenue. This underscores the gap created by the country’s food supply gap marked by 40% inflation.

As a reward for its exceptional performance, the company’s Board of Directors has proposed a dividend of N13 per share—more than double the N5.50 paid in 2023. This 136.4% increase highlights BUA Foods’ commitment to delivering shareholder value and reflects confidence in its long-term profitability.

Impact of Rising Costs and Foreign Exchange Losses

Despite its impressive topline and bottom-line figures, BUA Foods was not immune to Nigeria’s macroeconomic challenges. The company reported a substantial increase in finance costs, largely driven by foreign exchange losses amounting to N173 billion. The naira devaluation pushed up the cost of imported raw materials, significantly impacting operations.

Raw materials alone accounted for over 91% of the company’s total cost of sales, but BUA Foods managed to improve its operating profit margin to 31%. This was achieved through tight cost controls and a reduction in impairment losses.

The company’s debt profile also showed positive signs, with total debt dropping to N391.85 billion, down from the previous year. Most of the debt remains short-term borrowings used for import financing. The decline in debt helped lower BUA Foods’ gearing ratio from a steep 210% in 2023 to a more manageable 81% in 2024, improving financial stability.

Expansion to Boost Future Growth

To sustain its growth momentum, BUA Foods is making significant investments in production capacity. In August 2024, the company signed a deal with Turkish flour milling equipment manufacturer IMAS to construct four new wheat flour mills. When completed, this expansion will increase BUA Foods’ total wheat flour milling capacity to 2.5 million metric tonnes per year, positioning the company as one of the largest flour millers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Further strengthening its product portfolio, BUA Foods announced in September that it would significantly expand its pasta production line. The company plans to install nine new long-cut pasta lines, which will nearly double the annual pasta production capacity from 500,000 tons to 900,000 tons. This expansion is expected to drive product innovations and boost volume growth, especially as demand for locally produced pasta rises.

To support this scale-up, BUA Foods has also partnered with Turkish firm Cukurova Silo to increase its grain storage capacity by 100,000 tons. This added capacity is expected to ensure consistent access to raw materials, minimize supply chain disruptions, and enhance operational efficiency—a critical factor given Nigeria’s volatile logistics environment.

With these ambitious expansion projects, BUA Foods is positioning itself for sustained growth amid Nigeria’s economic headwinds. Analysts believe that BUA Foods’ investments in flour and pasta will not only strengthen its market leadership but also reduce its dependence on sugar, which has historically been its primary revenue driver. Additionally, they note that the company’s strategic focus on local manufacturing and cost efficiency will help mitigate forex-related risks.