About Us

Mr. Abiodun Alagbe is a seasoned finance executive and Chartered Accountant with over three decades of experience spanning financial management, corporate finance, telecoms, and audit. He currently serves as the Chief Finance Officer of Backbone Connectivity Network Nigeria Limited (BCN), where he plays a pivotal role in driving financial strategy, operational efficiency, and strategic business growth.

Alagbe’s tenure at BCN is marked by a commitment to financial discipline and performance improvement. He has led financial planning, reporting, compliance, treasury management, and investment strategies that support the company’s transformation into a diversified digital infrastructure provider. His insights into macroeconomic trends and strategic budgeting have enabled the organization to make data-driven decisions aligned with long-term business goals.

Before joining BCN, Alagbe held several senior leadership roles at MTN Group, including CFO/Executive Director at MTN Zambia and General Manager of Enterprise Programme Management at MTN Nigeria. At MTN Zambia, he successfully grew EBITDA margins from 9.7% to 27% and reduced operational expenditure as a percentage of sales, contributing significantly to the company’s turnaround and financial sustainability. He also led key projects such as the acquisition of Visafone and the sale of MTN Nigeria towers to IHS, overseeing finance workstreams and due diligence.

Earlier in his career, Alagbe built a strong foundation in audit and advisory, working with top firms such as Arthur Andersen (now KPMG), Ahmed Zakari & Co., and Akintola Williams Deloitte. This experience instilled in him a rigorous approach to financial governance, compliance, and risk management.

Alagbe’s leadership is characterized by strategic foresight, operational control, and a collaborative management style. He has built and led high-performing finance teams, mentored future leaders, and driven policy improvements that align with international standards and business growth objectives.

His professional affiliations include Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), and membership in the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. His academic background includes a First-Class degree in Biochemistry from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Through roles that span audit, telecom operations, corporate strategy, and finance transformation, Abiodun Alagbe brings a comprehensive understanding of value creation, business continuity, and sustainable financial leadership in Nigeria’s dynamic business environment.

Dr. Boakye has spent over 30 years in the telecoms industry. He has BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, and began his career at the University of Ghana where he headed the Computer Science Department and served as a member of the University Council. Since then he has served in a variety of roles in the ICT industry, ranging from research to executive management

• Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer for Harris Corporation, an international communications equipment company based in Florida. In that position, he was responsible for providing technology leadership and management for the corporation and marshalling its technology resources into a strategic asset
• Vice-President of Technology Planning for AT&T Paradyne (also holding positions as Chief Technical Officer and Chief Architect, Director of Business Development, and Technical Director of Architecture Development)
• Technical Manager of Data Architecture Planning at Bell Laboratories

He has provided consultancy and advisory services in the areas of ICT, new and emerging technologies, technology development and strategic planning for numerous organisations, including UN agencies and a number of public and private institutions, including Lucent Technologies

He has served as a member of the Technological Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, a member of the board of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, the Wireless Communications Association International, the Florida Research Council, and the Growing Connection. In addition, he has sat on advisory committees and boards of other industry bodies, the U.S. National Science Foundation, governmental organisations and several universities.

Desmond is a Partner, The Law Union. He was a Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law at the University of Lagos, where he taught Revenue Law, the Law of Business Associations and the Law of Commercial Transactions. He also developed the Intellectual Property Law course for the undergraduate programme and led Postgraduate Seminars in International Economic Law (particularly in the area of technology transfer).

He was a Stagaire/Foreign Associate in the International Law Firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Brussels, Belgium. He was Consultant to the Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and Energy between 1982-1983 during which time he participated actively in the redefinition of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project.

He has written several articles in learned journals and contributed chapters in publish law books among which are: "The Onslaught of Pirates and Counterfeiters: Judicial Engineering To The Rescue"; "The Law of Negotiable Instruments"; "The Creation, Operation and Regulation of Unit Trusts"; "Fair Dealing and Copyright in Nigeria"; ;"Legal Environment for Pre-Shipment Inspection"; The Government of Nigeria and the Oil Producing Companies"; "Taxation for Economic Development".

Professional Association

He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association; Young Lawyers International Association (AIJA), International Bar Association, International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP).

Education

Admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1980, educated at the University of Warwick LLB (Hons.), (1978) and The London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, LL.M, (1979).

Practice areas

Company and Commercial Law, Banking & Finance, Industrial & Intellectual Property Law and Petroleum Law.

Mahey Rasheed is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He has extensive experience in central banking having been a career staff at the CBN, rising to the rank of departmental Director and later appointed as a Deputy Governor between 1999 and 2004. While at the CBN, he has been a key member in the formulation and implementation of Monetary, Exchange Rate and Financial policies; risk management strategies; reserve management and corporate governance for two decades.

In addition, Alhaji Rasheed was a former Chairman of the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. Besides, he served on the board of several public and private sector companies and important national and international Committees.

He was the founding Chairman of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (the Nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund). He assiduously led the organization to be clearly adjudged as the best Sovereign Wealth Fund start up in the developing world.

He was conferred with the national honor of Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) by the nation in 2004.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

On the international financial scene, Alhaji Rasheed has led the external Reserve Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria for more than a decade in which he actively worked with many central banks, renowned international banks and international institutions.

Moreover, Alhaji Rasheed was the Chairman of the Clearing and Exchange Committee of the West African Clearing House (WACH) from May 1992 to May 1993, (the Committee handling all trade transactions in the West African Sub region). During that period, he was a key member of the Committee that worked tirelessly to transform the body in May 1993 into the present West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) responsible for regional monetary integration in West Africa.

In recognition of Mr. Rasheed’s outstanding professional accomplishments, the IMF appointed him, on his personal merit, to represent Africa with other eminent central bankers around the world (each member representing a continent) on the Fund’s Panel of Experts on Safeguards Assessment in 1999. The panel was to advise the IMF on fiduciary assessment for member countries.

DOMESTIC FINANCIAL SECTOR EXPERIENCE

Alhaji Rasheed was a member of many teams of professionals that represented the Federal Government in negotiations involving the promotion of projects of national importance and a founding director of the National Insurance Supervisory Board now NAICOM (Insurance sector regulator) representing the CBN

He was also the Chairman of the Legacy Pension Managers Limited and has led its unprecedented growth in the Nigerian pension management sector, regulated by PENCOM. In addition, Alhaji Rasheed was independent Director, on the Board of First Bank of Nigeria.

Mr. Rasheed attended Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and Harvard University, USA where he obtained a B. Sc Economics and MPA Public Policy respectively. He is also an Edward Mason fellow of the Harvard University.

Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola is a graduate of Computer Applications in Geography from Oklahoma State University, he is also an alumnus of Harvard University.

He ranked #13 in the IFSEC Global Cyber Security professional’s influencers and thought leaders. He is the Executive Chairman of Consultancy Support Services (CS2) a Cyber Security, e-Library and Information Communication Technology (ICT) consultancy firm, he was the special assistant Innovation & Technology to the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria where he instigated the development of the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response team (ngCERT).

Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola sits on the Board of numerous organisations, especially those operating in the areas of ICT security, cybercrime and international development the Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG), the Taskforce on Scan ICT Nigeria, and the Council of Regional Advisers for West and Central Africa of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Ajijola is also an advisor for a number of committees and groups, including the group of experts advising UNESCO on issues related to the ethics of outer space”, the legal sub-committee of the Presidential Committee on Cyber Crime/419 activities on the Internet, and the National ICT Strategic Action Plan Committee (SAPC)

Mr. Ibrahim Dikko is the MD/Chief Executive Officer of Backbone Connectivity Network (BCN) – a connectivity and internet company providing Digital Products & Services across multi - layered digital infrastructure and technology platforms.

He is a Visionary and Transformative Entrepreneur with over 35 years’ experience in the Telecommunications and Oil & Gas sectors. Prior to joining Backbone Connectivity Network, Mr. Dikko served as the Managing Director, Hambali Investment Limited (2009 – 2011). Between 2004 to 2009, he served as the Deputy Managing Director/ COO of Eterna Oil, where he was part of the team that successfully developed and structured the most effective models that transformed the business operations. From 1987 to 2004, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko worked with the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) where he served and rose to the position of the Chief Marketing and Supply Officer. He is a seasoned professional and serves as an independent board member of Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX), Nigeria’s premier stock trading platform and a member of the Nigeria Stock Exchange Group. Mr. Dikko is also a director at Eagleview Concepts, PAN54, Lenux Group amongst several other companies.

He is an Alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and has attended executive courses at renowned global institutions.

Executive Summary

Rakiya Mohammeds is a Certified IT Business Manager with over 30 years of comprehensive experience spanning financial services, telecommunications, and technology sectors. Holds prestigious certifications including FCA, FNCS, CISA, FIMCC, CCISO, and multiple enterprise architecture and governance credentials. Demonstrated excellence in strategic leadership, business process transformation, and information security management.

Core Competencies

• IT Leadership: Chief Information Officer (3x), Chief Information Security Officer (4x), Head of Strategy (3x)
• Digital Transformation: Led Africa's first Central Bank Digital Currency (eNaira) implementation
• Information Security: ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, CCISO certification, cybersecurity framework development
• Enterprise Architecture: TOGAF, business process automation, IT governance (COBIT, ITIL)
• Strategic Innovation: AI/ML implementation for macroeconomic forecasting, data warehouse development
• Project Management: Prince2 certified, complex IT infrastructure deployment

Education & Certifications

Academic Qualifications

• M.Sc. Information Systems Engineering, University of Manchester (UMIST), 1994
• B.Sc. (First Class Honours) Computer Science, Ahmadu Bello University (ATBU), 1987
• Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), 1996

Technical Expertise

Blockchain, Central Bank Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence, Information Systems Audit, Financial Management, IT Service Management, Infrastructure Management, Risk Management, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery, Database & Systems Administration, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity Operations

Mr. Mohammed Bukar Umar sits on the board as Northern Nigeria Development Company’s(NNDC) representative. He has over 27 Years’ experience in the Public-sector operations, Internal audit, New Business Development is currently the Managing Director/CEO, New Capital Properties Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of NNDC Limited and has other interests.

Mr. Mohammed Bukar Umar obtained his first Degree in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria and a master’s degree in business administration from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.