The Edo State Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues (MSDGI) has carried out a sensitization programme on the evils of cybercrime in the society.
The programme, which took place in 25 secondary schools in Benin City, the State capital, at the same time, aimed to educate the students on the perils of cyber-crime as part of the government’s overall goal to eradicate the problem.
The Director, Child Development Department in the Ministry, Mrs. Kate Bello, told the students that “Cyber-crime is a way to ruin yourself.”
She said: “We have noticed that many children are slowly getting into this activity.
“We want to begin our sensitization from your level. We want to get you young from Junior Secondary School (JSS I) and above. We don’t want you to reach higher levels first and go down that path before you realize that this is not something you should do.”
The Director advised: “I want you to know that this is not a good way to make money, cyber-crime is bad. You need to work hard, read your books and when you finish your secondary school and you don’t want to continue, you can learn skills.
“In the Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues, we have many units that deal with issues related to skills. After your school you can come to us and there are many skills including those that are Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-related, and other profitable jobs as long as you put effort into what you do.”
She also said: “Cyber-crime has many negative effects on the individual such as lack of integrity, early death, waste of resources, difficulties on others in the society, among others, and legal action or even prison.”
Mrs. Bello urged the students not to succumb to peer pressure to do cybercrime but rather do useful and lawful work.
Answering questions from the students on the lawful ways of making money and the reason why people do the act, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry, Mr. John McDonald, explained that they can make money through lawful ways without risks, by using the same intelligence they would have used for illegal purposes into areas like ICT, the medical sciences among others.
He stressed that these will help them create a more solid and lasting source of income like a tree, and not shaky wealth that can easily collapse.
