Yenagoa—As technology advances and the internet becomes indispensable in our daily activities, so is the uptick in cybercrime.
Cybercrime, popularly called “yahoo yahoo” in Nigeria, has become a global spectacle, eating deep into the moral and economic fabric of society.
In an exclusive interview with Mangrovepen.ng, Mr. Harry Porbeni, a Yenagoa-based tech entrepreneur, spoke about the growing rate of cybercrime in Bayelsa.
According to him, he does not buy into the idea that many young people are into crime, because of poor family backgrounds.
He maintained that there are so many people who are from terribly poor homes but are into legal ventures to make ends meet.
“A lot of young people seem to be flooding into cybercrime and the truth is that you can’t excuse them.
“Gone are those days that you will excuse people because they are from poor backgrounds.
“There are so many people from a poor background that have turned out fine. These have nothing to do with family backgrounds.
“It has nothing to do with struggles, I mean we all face peer pressure every day. So if some people decide to be what they are today, it is because they want to be like that.
“It is a personal choice, people are faced with a lot of pressure every day, but somehow we can filter what should go out,” he said.
Porbeni, who frowned at the culture of glorifying cybercrime, dismissed the idea of holding brief for cybercriminals when they are arrested or prosecuted.
A lot of young people these days, according to Porbeni, learn new technologies not to make an honest living for themselves but to commit crimes with such skills.
The tech developer said he is proud of who he is, what he does for a living, and what he has accomplished.
He stressed that the reason why most young people go into cybercrime is because of peer pressure and the desire to be who they are not.
He added that this has made most young people tow the wrong path to get rich.
Explaining the reason(s) for the recent rise of cybercrime, he bemoaned that “young people come into Bayelsa on a daily and weekly basis, from neighbouring states to commit a crime.
“When these guys would need a scapegoat to upgrade whatever it is to do, they will take one from this vicinity where they are not known. Some people may be currently missing but we don’t even know where they are.
“It is very unfortunate, cyber fraudsters are flooding Bayelsa, they are grooming our young ones, they are penetrating our schools, they are creating a system that is asking, why should anybody work hard?”
Porbeni expressed that people’s source of wealth should be questioned.
Because, according to him, we are in a society where people make money through heinous acts and means.
He advised Bayelsans to be vigilant and cooperate with security agencies in cases of crimes perpetrated by cybercriminals, who most of the time come from neighbouring states.
