Nigeria’s banking sector has long been celebrated for piloting groundbreaking innovations that ease operations challenges and promote customer satisfaction.

Technology has played a central role in many of these innovations. For instance, the NIBSS Instant Payment for real-time interbank transfers and the NIBSS Electronic Fund Transfer for same-day transfers have ensured that transactions are swift and trackable.

The value of transactions processed by NIBSS rose significantly to about 1.07 quadrillion naira (about 703.6 billion) in 2024.

These innovations are made possible by a pool of talented generations of Nigerians who are using their knowledge to make life easier for millions who depend on the country’s banking industry and are helping to bridge financial gaps.

Among them is Olusegun Phillips, who sees technology as an important tool in solving systemic challenges. For him, an inclusive technology policy can help build and strengthen Nigeria’s national resilience.

Having spearheaded major digital modernisation efforts in Nigeria’s banking industry, including enterprise architecture reform, cybersecurity governance, and the rollout of scalable digital banking platforms, Phillips has long been regarded as a seasoned systems builder.

Under his leadership, Polaris Bank, one of Nigeria’s best-known banks, executed one of the most comprehensive technology refresh programmes in recent years. The bank re-platformed its core banking system, deployed advanced cybersecurity infrastructure, and launched next-generation mobile solutions that improved digital accessibility for millions of Nigerians.

“We’ve seen how technology can deepen financial inclusion,” Phillips tells The Guardian. “But financial inclusion is just one part of a larger ecosystem. For true national development, we must talk about technology inclusion.”

That distinction is key. Phillips has become increasingly vocal about the need to bridge Nigeria’s growing digital divide, especially in rural and underserved communities. His recent public remarks at executive forums and industry roundtables reflect a growing professional shift from infrastructure inside organisations to a more people-focused digital strategy.

The digital divide is starkly uneven. Only about 6.6 percent of rural Nigerians had “meaningful connectivity” in recent years, compared to about 16.4 percent in urban areas—highlighting a nearly 81 percent connectivity gap across rural vs. urban communities. The ITU’s 2022 data showed that while 64 percent of urban residents accessed the Internet, just 23 percent in rural areas followed suit.

A 2020 Statista survey reported 36 percent of urban dwellers never used the Internet, compared to 65 percent in rural areas.

Gender disparities further widen the gap: 45 percent of women are aware of mobile Internet versus 62 percent of men, and 40 percent of women without mobile phones cite illiteracy as a key barrier, compared to 22 percent of men. This means that millions of women, especially in rural or low-literacy settings, remain digitally excluded.

Internet service in Nigeria is notably less affordable than in many countries. In 2024, the cost of a basic 2 GB mobile broadband plan averaged 4.2 percent of gross national income per capita, more than twice the UN’s 2 percent affordability benchmark; fixed broadband cost about 15 percent, placing it out of reach for most low-income households.

According to the World Data Lab’s Internet Poverty Index, as of 2022 Nigeria had the largest population classified as internet-poor—over 103 million people unable to afford basic connectivity (≥1 GB at 10 Mbps) without exceeding 10 percent of income

“Technology should be a great equaliser, not a divider,” he notes. “Our urban centres are surging forward, but we must ask what happens to the remote schools without internet or the farmers without access to market data. These are questions of national urgency.”

Phillips argues that while fintech and enterprise platforms are revolutionising business, Nigeria’s long-term success will depend on how well digital infrastructure and literacy are extended to the grassroots.

He noted that these inequalities profoundly affect access to education, healthcare, financial services, civic participation, and economic opportunities.

With his background in IT governance and strategic architecture, Phillips sees the challenges of rural access not as technical problems alone but as structural and policy-level gaps. He has been consulting with educational institutions, local administrators, and technology NGOs, advocating for integrated models that combine infrastructure, training, and governance.

“We need a framework that is not just about bandwidth but about capacity — technical, institutional, and civic,” he explains. “Our goal should be national resilience through inclusive technology.”

Phillips’ credibility stems from results. His past initiatives include designing DevOps pipelines for agile banking delivery, institutionalising enterprise IT governance using COBIT 5, and aligning tech strategy with regulatory compliance and customer experience.

But it is his shift in attention toward community-centred connectivity that has most recently drawn attention in industry circles.

In panel appearances and stakeholder briefings, he has increasingly pushed for public and private alignment on extending broadband to Nigeria’s least connected areas.

“You don’t need to be in tech to be affected by the digital gap,” he said. “But if you’re in tech and you’re in leadership, you have a responsibility to fix it.”