By Adebowale Lucas Akomolafe
A fibre cable in the ground is not yet digital transformation. Neither is a government portal, a data centre, a GIS
platform or an artificial intelligence programme. These are important assets, but their real value begins only
when people can use them reliably to improve public services, support businesses, make better decisions and
create economic opportunities.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important for Ekiti State. In recent years, the State has invested in
broadband infrastructure, e-government systems, statistical capacity, digital land administration, geospatial
infrastructure and the Ekiti Knowledge Zone. These are the right foundations. The next challenge is making sure
the capability to operate and sustain them grows at the same pace.
In August 2026, the State Executive Council approved ₦145.087 million for the overhaul and extension of the
State Enterprise Broadband Network across Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Government also reported a
baseline fibre deployment of about 331.7 kilometres, a further 105.96 kilometres deployed in 2026 and the need
for roughly another 160 kilometres before year-end. Significantly, the State also acknowledged the need to
determine the operational status and utilisation of existing fibre infrastructure.
That last point deserves attention. There is a major difference between installing infrastructure and extracting
value from it.
Infrastructure Needs People Behind It
Across many public-sector technology programmes, the difficult part is no longer procurement alone. It is
benefits realisation: ensuring that an asset continues to deliver measurable value after installation,
commissioning and handover.
A network can be installed and remain underused. A digital platform can be commissioned and gradually
become obsolete. A database can accumulate millions of records without improving decisions. And an institution
can own sophisticated technology while remaining dependent on an external vendor for routine operation and
troubleshooting.
That is why Ekiti’s next digital conversation should swiftly move from “What technology are we building?” to
“What capability must exist around this technology for the investment to keep producing value?”
Broadband, for example, requires more than fibre in the ground. It needs people who understand enterprise
networking, fibre maintenance, fault diagnosis, network monitoring, cybersecurity, capacity planning and
incident response. It also needs managers who can oversee service levels, assets, vendors, maintenance and
continuity of operations.
The same applies to data. Ekiti’s Statistical Master Plan for 2025–2029 rightly emphasises data quality,
infrastructure, human-resource development, data management and access. But a modern government data
environment also needs database administrators, data engineers, data-governance specialists, systems
architects, cybersecurity professionals and technical business analysts and program managers.
Integration Is the Bigger Test
The challenge becomes more serious as government platforms multiply. Land administration may have one
system; revenue another; education another; healthcare another. Each may work perfectly on its own, yet
government can still end up with a collection of digital islands.
Digital transformation should reduce fragmentation, not automate it. That makes systems integration one of the
most important capabilities in modern government. Professionals are needed who understand APIs, enterprise
architecture, identity management, process mapping, data exchange, workflow automation and digital-service
design.
Page 1Technology also cannot repair a process that nobody has properly understood. A broken administrative process
placed on a computer remains a broken process. For this reason, Ekiti’s digital workforce strategy should
combine technology expertise with business analysis, process improvement, project management and public-
sector operations.
The Knowledge Zone Raises the Stakes
The Ekiti Knowledge Zone makes this even more important. Its value should not be measured only by the
infrastructure built or companies attracted, but also by the local technical workforce it helps create.
If technology firms establish operations in Ekiti but must import most specialist staff from Lagos, Abuja or
abroad, the State captures only a fraction of the economic value the Zone could generate. A stronger outcome is a
deliberate talent pipeline connecting universities, polytechnics, training providers and young professionals to
internships, apprenticeships, industry projects, employment and entrepreneurship.
This is also where cybersecurity, cloud computing, GIS and geospatial intelligence deserve more attention. Every
additional digital service creates another asset that must be maintained and protected. As land systems,
connected MDAs, citizen databases, payment platforms and cloud services expand, the State will need people
capable of operating them securely and reliably.
Training Must Be Connected to Real Work
Ekiti is not starting from zero. The State already has programmes in digital literacy, software development,
cybersecurity, innovation and youth development. The next evolution should be less about simply increasing the
number of people trained and more about connecting training to clearly identified demand.
The practical questions are straightforward: Which technical roles will Ekiti’s infrastructure require over the
next three to five years? Which specialist functions are currently difficult to source locally? Which systems are
overly dependent on vendors? What skills will organisations entering the Knowledge Zone need? And where can
trainees gain real project and workplace experience?
Technical capability is difficult to build entirely in a classroom. A fibre technician needs exposure to real
networks. A GIS analyst needs real geospatial data. A data engineer needs to build and troubleshoot actual
pipelines. A cybersecurity trainee needs controlled environments where incidents can be simulated. Training
should therefore move increasingly towards a model of learning, applied projects, apprenticeship and
deployment. The certificate should be evidence of competence, not the ultimate objective.
From Digital Projects to Digital Capability
Artificial intelligence will have an important place in Ekiti’s future, but AI cannot compensate for disconnected
systems, unreliable infrastructure or poor-quality data. Strong infrastructure supports reliable data; good data
supports better analytics; integrated and secure systems make automation safer. Without those foundations, AI
risks becoming an impressive demonstration rather than a dependable public-service tool and solution.
The broader lesson is that government technology should not be viewed only as a collection of projects. Every
technology investment eventually becomes an operational responsibility. The project team leaves. The launch
ceremony ends. The vendor’s initial engagement expires. But the network, database or platform is expected to
keep working.
Every major digital investment should therefore answer four questions from the beginning: Who will operate it?
Who will maintain it? Who will secure it? And how will the knowledge required to do those things remain within
the State?
A useful next step would be to connect Ekiti’s existing human-capital, education, innovation and digital-
economy initiatives through a clear Digital Infrastructure and Technology Workforce Framework. Such a
framework would not replace programmes already under way; it would align them with the real capability
requirements of the State’s infrastructure, MDAs, Knowledge Zone and private-sector employers.
The real measure of digital transformation should therefore move beyond kilometres of fibre laid, platforms
launched or participants trained. It should include how much infrastructure is being productively used, how
reliable services are, how many critical systems can be supported locally, how many people move from training
into real technical work and how much economic and public-service value is created from the investment.
Ekiti has already begun building important pieces of a digital economy. Its next competitive advantage may
come from building the people and institutions capable of owning those investments long after the contractors
have gone. Because the real legacy of digital transformation will not be the technology government purchased. It
will be the capability society developed around it.
Adebowale Lucas Akomolafe,
Project Management and Programme Delivery Consultant
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