The rising number of Nigerian youths engaged in the Advance Fee Fraud popularly known as ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ is, no doubt, worrisome.
The recent discovery of recruitment and training centres for teenagers in some parts of the country even poses greater concerns for the nation. While many people blamed the development on failure of governance, accusing fingers were also pointed to various enablers who aid and abate the crime, BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE writes.
Yahoo Yahoo or 419 is used to describe those involved in advance fee fraud. The number was coined from Section 419 of Nigerian Criminal Code, which criminalises the process of obtaining money or property by false pretense. “We have what we call the 419 training schools where they harvest our children from primary school. When they close from their regular studies at 2.00pm, they end up in some of these 419 training schools, where they are indoctrinated. They first ask them and their parents to sign an undertaking and they get indoctrinated into cybercrime as young as they are.
Odinakachi Micheal , who is 27 years old and a secondary school drop-out said: ““School is scam” was coined out of government’s failure to provide quality education and employment after graduation. Adams Onuja joined Yahoo Yahoo as a final year student in a university in the northern part of the country.
“It is hard to resist the temptation of easy money when you are struggling. I know it is not the right path but it is hard to quit if you start it,” he added. When asked about the attitude of the youth towards menial jobs, Akpan said: “It is still the same society. You don’t expect a degree holder to accept an employment of N70,000 monthly in Nigeria of today; they also have family matters to solve. So, menial job is not a concern for a youth engulfed in life; he would rather travel outside or do any form of illegality besides Yahoo. Aside from Yahoo, there are other forms of illegalities that people indulge in.
Mr. Frank Ebo holds a Masters degree in Economics and Statistics. Having sought for a white collar job without success, he opted for poultry farming in his village for survival. “The government is also not sincere enough in addressing economic challenges confronting the society. What is the confidence in the young people that there would be a better tomorrow? The ideology of the youth is to do anything possible to live today and die tomorrow. In fact, there is no tomorrow for most young Nigerians.”“Our President who lives in Abuja far from any water body has a presidential yacht. That shows how much we glorify money.
“When hook-up girls marry Yahoo boys, even cooking at home will be a problem. They will have to rely on restaurants. Nobody will even apply for government jobs and there would be shortage of workers,” he noted. “Secondly, the failure of parents to provide character behaviour and observe their children to know their friends is equally contributing to the problem. Parents have neglected their roles; community and religious leaders have all neglected their roles as most religious leaders concentrate their teachings on prosperity.
A Presbyter in Methodist Church of Nigeria, Cathedral of Grace, Abuja, Ugochukwu Sylvester Madu, absolved religion of any blame but rather blamed religious leaders for not interrogating some members and donors about their sources of income due to fear of blackmail. “Such messages often neglect crucial values that contribute to a stable social system such as accountability, integrity, contentment and harmonious coexistence,” he said.Beyond the failure of religious leaders to instill fear of God in most of their members, Madu also blamed poverty for the increase in Yahoo Yahoo activities.
“So, if you look at this Yahoo thing, it is just like a mother encouraging her daughter to go into prostitution in order to get money for them to eat. My worry is that to be knowledgeable in internet requires some training. “The fact that they keep running and hiding shows that they are not at peace. They cannot sleep, they cannot raise a decent family and even when they do, they will end up putting their wives and children to disgrace. I appeal to young men to earn their living through hard work. Work and earn money with dignity,” he admonished.Most Yahoo boys lodge in hotels for months while perpetrating their illegal act.
“In that wise, the hotel and owners are within the category of persons aiding and abetting the crime, which could very possibly extend to becoming accessories after the fact.
Internet Fraud Ola Olukoyede Yahoo Yahoo
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