Tekisite, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has launched a campaign to combat the increasing rate of cybercrime amongst school students in Nigeria by providing alternative careers in tech.
In a bid to fulfill this objective, the project organisers, powered by Reaching Mind Foundations, have initiated plans to organise bootcamps as well as seminars across the country to enlighten secondary school students on other opportunities which avails in the world of tech.
The growing concern of Cybercrime
Cybercrime first gained prominence in the early 2000s when young Nigerians pretended to be African princes and claimed to offer wealth in exchange for a fee. However, a new wave of acceptance is sweeping through the country which is connected to the growing poverty rate, get-rich-quick mentality and an overwhelming peer pressure.
According to a report by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a whopping 80% of 2021 arrests are cybercrime and fraud related. Also, Nigeria was ranked 16th among countries worst affected y cybercrime, according the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
How does Tekisite plan to change the narrative?
According to Oluwatosin Adeyemo, Head of Communications at Tekisite, Cybercrime has become a menace to the society, and needs to be checked immediately before it ravages the economy of its potentials and human capital.
Cybercrime is now the major crime to be tackled in the society. The acceptance is worrisome, it’s now a popular culture that youths must engage in cybercrime as a means of survival. Teenagers are getting pressured by their parents and immediate family to engage in cybercrime.
Oluwatosin Adeyemo, Head of Commuication Tekisite
Tekisite mentions that cybercrime has silently taken over the Nigerian society. Hence, It is not enough to speak against a vice, especially one as absolute and as engrained as cybercrime. It is more important to provide teenagers and the next generation with an alternative. One that provides great economic and societal advantages.
Banking on the world’s increased dependence on technology, the Founder of Tekisite, Abass Oyeyemi while stating the essence of the project noted that:
Tekisite bootcamps will see teenagers escape the vice of cybercrime, learn how to gain valuable employment, and also gain great human values that put them out of the reach of increasing societal pressure. Thus birthing an army of tech-savvy young Africans ready to take the world by storm. Eradicating cybercrime, making the world a better place, and creating sustainable employment opportunities.
Abass Oyeyemi, Founder Tekesite
Ogun and Oyo amongst first beneficiaries
According to the NGO, the theory behind Tekisite is one that has been successfully put into practice over and over again. The first edition of the project kickstarted in Ogun on July 4 and ended July 17, 2021.
The project was targeted at students from Ayetoro, Joga-Orile and Ibooro in Ogun. The project ended up training over 250 students from different secondary schools.
In Oyo, the 2.0 of the program ran through April 3-9, 2022, in Saki and trained 375 students from three secondary schools.
The latest edition of the project is set to return to Ogun with learning focus on web development, software development, product management, product design and digital marketing.
The position of the state as a major global site in digital technology and the emerging innovation economy; as well as the number of tertiary institutions, coupled with the existence of major ethnic groups in the state were some of the reasons cited by the NGO for choosing the state.
The Project Lead of the Tekisite Project, Salawu Faizat while narrating what to expect from the next Tekisite project said, “we are targeting about 900 school children in Ogun, who will come out as tech bros after two weeks of intense training in our strategic locations at Ogun East, Ogun West and Ogun Central.
“Software development, Product Design, Graphic Design would be the core areas of learning for the teenagers. Aftermath of the training would be a statewide competition among our learners which would come with several opportunities for them”
With the world in a full-blown technology frenzy, the Nigerian society must take hold of the
opportunity to provide teenagers and young Nigerians with tech and digital skills. These
skills will serve as an alternative to cybercrime and also help prepare Nigerian youths
compete with other countries in molding a tech-savvy generation.
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