Senator Abdulfatai Buhari,representing Oyo North Senatorial District in the National Assembly and chaired the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybercrime, described the rising incidence of cybercrime in Nigeria as “horrible,” warning that the country risked losing enormous economic opportunities if it failed to adequately secure its cyberspace.
Buhari spoke during the maiden edition of the South West Group of Online Publishers (SWEGOP) Breakfast Media Chat, held on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at the SWEGOP office, CEOAfrica Building, Jericho, Ibadan.
The engagement provided the senator an opportunity to respond to questions on Nigeria’s ICT sector, cybercrime, telecommunications tariffs, digital infrastructure and the role of the National Assembly in regulating the rapidly evolving sector.
Speaking on the proposed increase in data tariffs at the time, Buhari said the National Assembly had not been consulted before the directive was issued, stressing that any policy capable of placing additional pressure on Nigerians during an economic recession required careful consideration.
“I must be honest with you, on the issue of tariff, the National Assembly has not been consulted about it. I think it is a policy issue for them,” he said.
Buhari, however, agreed that increasing the cost of internet access during a recession could further strain citizens whose purchasing power had already declined.
“If we say we are in recession, the purchasing power of the people has gone down, this is not the time to milk them. I absolutely agree with you on that,” he said.
He said he would engage members of his committee on the matter, noting that the legislature had a responsibility to intervene whenever government policies became inimical to the interests of citizens.
“We will not sit down and allow Nigerians to be milked and sucked,” Buhari declared.
According to him, while the National Assembly should not interfere unnecessarily in the policy-making functions of government agencies, it must exercise its oversight responsibilities whenever such policies have significant consequences for Nigerians.
Buhari also argued that Nigeria needed to look beyond oil and develop ICT as a major source of revenue, pointing out that technology had become an important contributor to the economies of countries across the world.
He nevertheless cautioned against policies that could make internet access increasingly unaffordable, saying any tariff adjustment should be gradual enough to minimise its impact on ordinary Nigerians.
‘Cybercrime Rate Is Growing at an Astronomical Rate’
Responding to questions on Nigeria’s reputation as a major source of internet fraud, Buhari said the situation was not improving and described the country’s cybercrime challenge as alarming.
“It is not decreasing at all. As of the moment, the rate of cybercrime in our country is horrible,” he said.
The senator cited his experience during a visit to South Korea, where he said he discussed cybersecurity with the chairman of the ICT committee in the country’s parliament.
According to Buhari, his South Korean counterpart told him that attacks on the country’s cyber systems were effectively prevented by a security mechanism he referred to as a “gate stop.”
He explained that the system was designed to intercept attacks before they could penetrate critical infrastructure.
Buhari said Nigeria faced a serious disadvantage because of inadequate investment in cybersecurity, especially when compared with countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
He claimed that while Britain and the United States had committed substantial resources to cybersecurity, Nigeria had allocated no specific funds to the challenge at the time.
“Having said that, United Kingdom budgeted £22 billion for cyber security, America budgeted $43 billion to fight cybercrime. Nigeria budgeted zero naira to fight cybercrime,” he said.
Buhari stressed that combating cybercrime required substantial investment, adding that effective cybersecurity would not only protect government infrastructure but also improve international confidence in Nigeria.
He identified Galaxy Backbone, NigComSat and the National Identity Management Commission among institutions under the oversight of his committee, arguing that better coordination among government technology agencies could unlock greater value from Nigeria’s existing digital infrastructure.
According to him, NigComSat and other agencies possessed infrastructure capable of supporting national data management, but concerns over backup systems and coordination had continued to limit their usefulness.
He said the National Assembly was considering ways of strengthening such infrastructure and encouraging service providers to utilise national facilities where appropriate.
Buhari: Nigeria Has Talented Young People
Buhari said Nigeria’s cybercrime problem was particularly troubling because many young Nigerians possessed technological skills that could be deployed legitimately to create wealth and employment.
“I don’t have an offhand percentage but it is horrible. You said something that I absolutely agree with. We have guys who are talented in this country, who we should have been able to use as geniuses to generate revenue, but unfortunately for us, they use it in the opposite direction,” he said.
Recalling an encounter at the United Nations in New York, Buhari said he was particularly struck when a participant from Eritrea spoke about how countries without oil could use ICT to compete with resource-rich nations.
He said the experience forced him to reflect on Nigeria’s huge population and the enormous pool of talent available across the country.
Buhari also used the occasion to call for greater national unity, saying Nigeria would make significant progress if citizens began to see themselves primarily as Nigerians rather than through ethnic identities.
“The day I will see Nigerians seeing themselves as Nigerians, not as Yoruba men or Igbo men or Hausa men, that will be one of the happiest days in my life,” he said.
‘We Have a Cybercrime Law’
On whether the Senate had legislation addressing telecommunications taxation, Buhari said there was already an existing law and also referred to additional obligations imposed on service providers.
He also expressed concern that the major challenge in Nigeria was often not the passage of legislation but its effective implementation.
Buhari said the Cybercrime Act had already been signed into law before his appearance at the SWEGOP event, noting that it prescribed serious penalties for cybercrime offences.
He appealed to online publishers and social media users to deploy digital platforms responsibly, particularly in their roles as watchdogs of society.
“Social media is used as a check and balance of the society genuinely, honestly, not as a tool for destruction,” he said.
Buhari urged online publishers to uphold professional standards, stressing that individuals should not hide behind the internet to publish defamatory or deliberately destructive material.
He also praised the emergence of SWEGOP, saying a structured association of online publishers could help improve accountability within the sector.
According to him, complaints against members could be channelled through the association, giving publishers an opportunity to respond before disputes escalated.
“The moment every other Tom, Dick and Harry write, it will not give this association integrity,” he warned.
Senate Committee Plans Cybercrime Conference
Buhari disclosed that his committee had begun preparations for a cybercrime conference involving stakeholders in the communications and technology sectors.
He said the initiative was designed to bring together relevant agencies, professionals and other stakeholders so that their experiences and recommendations could inform future legislation and policy.
“When you allow all the stakeholders to come, by the time you gather experience, by the time you gather every other person and you now take it up as a law, it won’t become strange because everybody is involved,” he said.
Buhari said Nigeria had reportedly been identified among countries associated with high levels of internet fraud, a development he described as embarrassing but potentially reversible.
His proposed approach was to make legitimate use of technological skills more attractive than cybercrime by creating opportunities for talented young Nigerians to earn substantially from their abilities.
“If you are able to use this talent genuinely, the way it should be done, you can make N100. N100 is more than N10,” he said.
From Almajiri to Auto Designer
Buhari recalled meeting a young Nigerian, Mohammed Iliya from Sokoto, in the United States who was introduced to him as one of the country’s leading automobile designers there.
He said the encounter reinforced his belief that Nigeria was home to young people with exceptional talents who could thrive if given the right opportunities.
“If that guy was to stay in Nigeria, he would have been an almajiri. This means we have the potential,” Buhari said.
The senator also recounted a humorous encounter with his daughter, which he said demonstrated how quickly younger Nigerians were embracing technology.
He explained that while watching football at home, his daughter connected her laptop to the television despite his initial objection. When he later asked how she had achieved it, she reportedly responded jokingly, “Chairman ICT.”
Buhari said his experience as chairman of the ICT committee had changed his perception of technology, admitting that he had discovered how much more there was to learn despite previously considering himself technologically savvy.
“Before I became the ICT Committee chairman, I must be honest with you, I was always thinking I was a smart guy but with what I have seen on the field within the last two years, I have found out I was a bloody illiterate on that line,” he said.
He cited South Korea’s technological development as another example of what Nigeria could achieve with sustained investment, effective coordination and a deliberate national strategy.
Buhari said the country did not necessarily need to depend solely on its oil resources, arguing that ICT could become a major driver of economic growth if Nigeria developed its human capital and protected its digital infrastructure.
For him, the challenge was not a shortage of talent but the ability of the country to create the environment required to turn that talent into productive economic value.
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