How to move Nigerian youth away from cybercrimes – Lawmaker

A member of the House of Representatives, Daniel Asama, has called for a deliberate policy to move youth away from cybercrimes into legitimate technological sectors.

Mr Asama, who represents the Jos/Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau State, made the call on Saturday at the closing ceremony of a summer programme organised by Teen Ambassador Foundation in collaboration with Net Access Communication Ltd in Abuja.

Speaking on the involvement of young people in cybercrime, the legislator said the government must put in place initiatives to ensure that young people can leverage technology for development instead of vice.

“All the Yahoo boys that you hear about, all the scams that you hear about—it’s technology. If we can only redirect that technology and put it in the right place, then we are good.

“So all this technology and the crime we are seeing online, the internet scams and everything. We only need to get these guys when they are young. Like we are doing here in Teen Ambassador. Get them young.

“Inculcate this discipline. Let them learn the technology, but learn to apply it to the right places,” he said.

While encouraging the participants at the training, Mr Asama said he could have gone into cybercrime because of his background but that he chose to get involved in software development to help people.

“I have a background in computer science. I understand that I could have chosen to be a scammer, hacking people’s accounts or hacking ATMs to try to get money, or I could develop software that will help and develop people. So today, the kids have an opportunity to learn how to develop their country.”

According to the World Cybercrime Index, Nigeria ranked 5th in cybercrime activities, coming behind Russia, which ranked number one, and Ukraine, China, and the United States, which occupied the second, third, and fourth positions, respectively.

Financial-related cybercrime, popularly known as “Yahoo Yahoo”, has been described as a pandemic by many. Between 2023 and 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured 3,175 convictions and recovered N156,276,691,242.30.

Parents must start teaching children IT early – Lawmaker

Speaking on the role of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, Mr Asama said parents must introduce their children to technology at an early age.

He warned that Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind, adding that there is a huge gap in the implementation of information technology in the country.

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“I have to introduce my kids to STEM. I have to introduce them to technology that has to do with programming, computing, and every other thing. I don’t care what my child is going to learn. If you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, I will still have to give you a background, a deep, very solid background in computer sciences, before you can reach any other profession.

“Because I don’t want my child to have a profession that, one day, will be shortchanged. And I will tell you, for Nigeria as a whole, technology is the hope for the world. Silicon Valley today is made up of younger people from the ages of 16 to about 40,” he said.