Is Nigeria's anti-cybercrime team really the answer?

Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the World and it is unfortunate that Nigeria has often managed to keep ahead of the trend and although reports say that Nigeria isn’t taking the problem seriously, it’s clear that this is one area where the West African country does not want to be the world leader.

Even though the success of counter-crime measures may be questionable, Nigerian authorities are working around the clock to implement measures to contain and stop cybercrimes, even if that means removing the hands of the clock temporarily by closing cybercafés at night.

But criminal activity has always intrigued me somewhat. Sure, I get those annoying 419 emails all the time and the ones asking me to be a middle man for online auction sales (what on earth for? online payments can be directed anywhere in the World instantly). In fact, the last one even asked me – after telling me that my skills were in need – to fax my CV to a number in the United States. The fact that the emails keep coming suggests one of two things: a) ultimate desperation or b) that these scams actually work.

So while the desperate scammers, if we can call them that, are probably just copying their ‘scam-gods’, those who came up with the scams are almost certainly very capable and its this latent capacity that is interesting. If Nigeria is to overtake South Africa as Africa’s biggest economy by 2016, then more effort needs to go into making sure that intelligent people help push GDP growth. The sad reality is that it will probably be quite difficult to find these people as it is the ‘desperate’ scammers who are more likely to be caught.

What probably needs to happen in Nigeria then is a structural change to ensure that this capacity isn’t lost to the virtual underworld. If these people aren’t in formal employment because they can earn more through cybercrime, then perhaps the private sector isn’t compensating skills accordingly. Or it could be that the formal sector in Nigeria doesn’t provide enough challenge, thereby boring these people, or that jobs simply aren’t available. Looking at it like this, cybercrime may just be a kind of entrepreneurial venture. If this is the case, pushing support and financing into SMME development may be a far cheaper way to ensure that 419 becomes a number of the past.

Sure, the law undoubtedly has a part to play, especially when the perceived risk factor for a crime is significantly lower than the possible rewards and note I'm also not suggesting that scammers are necessarily unemployed.

Realistically though, scams won’t stop existing, in Nigeria or elsewhere, but perhaps some smart management of this otherwise wasted talent could put Nigeria on top.