Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, while lamenting over the rate of internet fraudsters (yahoo boys) in the state, said, Nigeria can redirect the skills of internet fraudsters positively.
“…How do we re-direct that thinking into something more positive?”
Obaseki, at a town hall meeting in the state on Friday, said, yahoo boys must indeed be very brilliant to hack into peoples’ account and rob them of their hard earned money.
The Governor is therefore of the opinion that, instead of allowing internet fraudsters use their brains negatively, it will be good to redirect their brilliance for a better cause.
Obaseki however advised that, the root cause of ‘yahoo yahoo’ (cyber crime) must be addressed in the state just as human trafficking that once bedeviled the state was addressed.
It is worth mentioning that, Obaseki during his re-election years, (two years ago), made his intention to train repentant yahoo boys on vocational skills known.
According to the Governor, by this, it is a better way to harness the potentials of internet fraudsters, also known as scammers, rather than condemning them.
Obaseki then encouraged individuals living in the state, to report persons involved in cyber crime within the state while also condemning cyber fraud culture, that has taken its root in the state.