Call to action
The idea of student fraud was, in the past, associated with examination malpractices. We thought it was such a scandal that the nation was horrified at the prospect of breeding
- If six out of 10 students are “yahoo” boys, then we are breeding a dangerous generation
The idea of student fraud was, in the past, associated with examination malpractices. We thought it was such a scandal that the nation was horrified at the prospect of breeding a generation of phony men and women. We thought rightly at that time.
But we did not know what was ahead for future generations.
The alarm from a speech by the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, in Kano recently put it all in today’s perspective.
“My research in the last one year has shown that about six out of 10 students in our universities are into cybercrime. It is a very disturbing situation,” he said.
We may not be sure where he derived his figure from. But we know that the number of students, that form a big part of the youth population in this country, involved in what is called cybercrime today, or 419 in the language of the street, has been staggering. But to put it at 60 percent, should make us worry.
He used the word research, and that implies his assertion is not flippant but based on data. Even if it is not precise, it signals that a large number of students in the universities and polytechnics are steeped in seedy crimes for money. It means thousands of them.
For anecdotes, he cited a recent development. He said a major operation in Lagos where the commission nabbed 792 suspects, their activities were linked to a transnational cybercrime syndicate. He noted that a significant number of them were students.
But he also revealed something also very obnoxious. He said some of the students had enticed their lecturers and placed them on their payrolls. This way, they have compromised the integrity of the academic system. If their teachers who should be their role models do not chasten them but stoop morally to a maggoty connivance, then the tertiary institution may need an overhaul.
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The EFCC boss thinks the way out is technology. He calls for the deployment of artificial intelligence tools. It will expose the scale and sophistication of cybercrime networks operating within and beyond Nigeria, he says.
We recommend that.
But that will only work after we eject the bad eggs in the faculties. Bad eggs can only make the place stink.
Olukoyede also drew attention to the growing trend of “Yahoo Plus,” where suspects combine internet fraud with fetish practices. It is not whether this supernatural practice is real but that they exploit it to con and cheat.
Our tertiary institutions still rely heavily on manual systems. To change will entail huge capital outlay and training. That means we will be subjected to the wily ways of the fraudsters for a long time. It will make the institutions vulnerable to fraud such as ghost workers, inflated contracts and diversion of funds.
“A university that lacks financial accountability cannot credibly train future professionals. The integrity of our universities is a matter of national security,” he said.
He identified the areas of deployment of artificial intelligence as fraud detection, payroll management, procurement monitoring and academic integrity.
The consequences of Olukoyede’s revelations are far-reaching. In a nation where we complain of fraud in offices, warehouses and government, does it imply that we are handing over the next generation to vipers?
This is an emergency. A few years ago, some parents erupted on Abuja streets in defence of their children who had been arrested for doing the same wrong things. Lecturers are on their payrolls just as parents who tolerate them are looking the other way. They are looking up to their children as God’s gifts and providers for the families.
We need to see this the way it is: a call to action.
