The president of Nigeria recently made a violent speech condemning the municipality Stereotype of the “Nigerian prince”. that the nation is full of scamming cybercriminals.
Cybercrime remains a major problem in Nigeria, with an economic impact of $500 million per year. Speaking to Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Last week, President Bola Tinubu explained that cybercrime has damaged the country’s international reputation, but stressed that it is not just Nigeria’s problem. Rather, fraud and other types of cyberattacks are a “global phenomenon that must be addressed at all costs,” he said.
“Today’s world runs in real time on the Internet. Governance, businesses, institutions and even individual internal affairs depend on the Internet,” he said. “Cybercriminals are, therefore, a threat to the rest of the world. That is why no effort or expense should be spared in tackling the evil. I want to assure the EFCC that government will continue to offer its support in its bid to kill the dragon that Internet crime has become.”
In this context, it is important to combat the perception that the African country is “a nation of crooks”, a characterization which he says is “unfair, unsustainable and unacceptable”.
The role of young people in cybercrime
Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the EFCC, also expressed concern during the event young people playing an increasingly important role in cybercrime. He warned of “the danger of having a tribe of future leaders whose view of life is that fraud and corruption are the stairs to fame and fortune.”
Olukoyede said he believes the best way to address this issue is to encourage young people to pursue fulfilling careers that utilize the same skills.
He said: “We believe that academia can contribute more to the fight against corruption through mentorship, as young people in today’s fast-paced world need close supervision to navigate their path to success and a purposeful life.”
In a different way recent address at the EFCC, Chidiebere Ihediwa, a Nigerian cybersecurity specialist, echoed this theme, stressing that online scammers and fraudsters should be retrained as information technology specialists.