The Chief Operating Officer of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, Babatunde Obrimah, disclosed on Saturday that the Federal Government cannot stop cybercrime in Nigeria until the nation’s value system is addressed with sincerity.
He stated this in an interview with The PUNCH on the sidelines of the 2023 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria annual dinner and award night, held at the Thikadol Event Centre and Hotels, on Ring Road in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Obrimah said, “Cybercrime is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is a global problem. But it has to do with our value system. To get rich quick syndrome. The young people see it in the leaders, and they also took that decision to get money because we celebrate money without looking at the source of the money.
“Nobody, even Federal Government cannot stop cybercrime. You can’t stop it. But you can reduce the impact by making sure that you do the right things. You can’t stop it because they are also coming up with new solution. As government is trying to block them, they are also looking into how to break into that. Someone sitting in North Korea can hack a bank in Brazil.
“It is a huge problem because in a day of manual banking, armed robbers attacked bullion van, they probably went away with N20 million, but someone can sit in his room and take N20 billion from another person’s account. So, it is a huge problem, and until we address our value systems, and actually we are able to ask ourselves questions, like this person is a civil servant, this person is a politician, even in the National Assembly, how much money do you earn that you should have this? So, we need to start this, we need to start checkmating ourselves. But is our value system work? Nobody cares. The guy has money, we celebrate,
“Until we address those value issues with sincerity, it is problem we are going to have. It is not a localised Nigerian problem. It is a global problem. It is just that we have a situation that a young people just see that as an opportunity to get rich quick, buy flashy cars, live in decent part of the city, wear designer clothes, and life is not about that.” He submitted.
Earlier in his welcome address, the state branch chairman, Taofik Omotoso, explained that the purpose of the annual event is to share ideas and prepare for the new year.
He said, “We are here as colleagues, as professionals, bankers, and friends to come together, interact, joke, talk, discuss and share ideas. It is an annual event where bankers gather together to wine and dine. Share ideas and feel happy, give glory to almighty God and prepare for the new year.”
In his remarks, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, whose message was delivered by the commissioner for budget and economic planning, Musibau Babatunde, appreciated the roles played so far by banks to make the dreams of his administration come to fruition.
He said, “You all know that there is nothing you can do in moving the state forward if the resources are not there for you to utilize. You can have lofty dreams and ideas but if the resources are not there for you to utilize, it will just collapse like a pack of rice. But over the set of years that we have been in government, any time we need to make use of resources for developmental projects in the state, banks are always available, they have been very supportive.”