Converting Crime into Genius
“I know from my own education that if I hadn’t encountered two or three individuals that spent extra time with me, I’m sure I would have been in jail…I could see those tendencies in myself to have a certain energy to do something. It could have been directed at doing something interesting that other people thought was a good idea or doing something interesting that maybe other people didn’t like so much.”
— Steve Jobs
“If I hammer, first thing na Hummer, one million dollars, elo lo ma je ti n ba se si Naira?”. These lyrics from Nigerian artist Olu Martin are from his hit song “Yahooze” which perfectly describes the trade of Nigerian internet scammers. Major agents in the informal sector, these 419 boys have perfected the dogged pursuit of international money transfer scams, hence deriving the criminal code referring to that activity. However, those three digits don’t do justice to the many elaborate and even sometimes hilarious Internet scams that have sullied Nigeria’s digital notoriety. The classic scam typically involves a Nigerian “prince” who needs money to unlock more money that has been locked up somewhere. In other cases, the scammer may claim to be a wealthy former member of the Nigerian government who desperately needs a quick money transfer to fly out of the country. The e-mail recipient is then asked to provide assistance, often by providing their bank account information for the money transfer. The recipient is promised a hefty percentage of the gain as a reward and if the scammer is successful, he or she disappears with the money. In the year 2009, a Nigerian man was arrested in Singapore for trying to defraud the Ethiopian National Bank of $27 million and in 1995 another Nigerian man managed to convince a Brazilian bank to invest in a fake airport. As a Ghanaian who spent over 15 years of my life in Accra, I have encountered many of these internet scammers, some of whom are even friends. The culture has spread from just a few select individuals to any young person with a computer and internet access. A deeper insight into the history and evolution of internet scams in West Africa demonstrate exactly how internet fraud came to be seen as a “survival mechanism” and the complexity of their methods in current times.
For these young men, scamming for a living is actually a way of exiting an institutional framework that has consistently failed to provide any jobs regardless of an individual’s level of education. Some of these young men have computer skills comparable to the likes of Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. In another life these young men could have been billionaire entrepreneurs if only they had the right facilities and resources. They often lack the primary school teachers, mentors or the Silicon Valley facilities that could have guided them away from such criminal activities. Regardless, they have managed to leverage ambition, resourcefulness, and the cards they have been dealt in order to pursue a hated but beneficial livelihood. The growing number of young internet scammers highlights the devastating effects of turning a blind eye to Africa’s informal sector which is heavily regulated by African youth.
Famous Nigerian journalist, Dayo Olopade explains that African youth need to be given relevant experiences, reached through more creative channels and encouraged that they could transform failing African economies and states. These 419 boys and girls possess the abilities to create the world’s next set of groundbreaking applications and software systems. With the right facilities and proper guidance, more technological hubs such as California’s Silicon Valley could be created. Africa and Africans provide the best commercial markets and what better way to invest in this fast growth than to invest in the youth and technology. Kenya’s Silicon Savannah is among the many testaments to the potential in both the youth and technological sectors.
In the year 2007, Kenyan telecom company Safaricom launched its M-PESA mobile money service. The product aimed at revolutionizing a market that lacked retail banking, yet was abundant in mobile phone users. Within two years, the product had successfully converted even the most basic mobile phones into roaming bank accounts and money-transfer devices. M-PESA continues to be recognized internationally as the mobile money service that exemplifies technological leapfrogging on the continent by “launching ordinary Africans without bank accounts right over traditional brick-and-mortar finance into the digital economy”. Shortly after M-PESA’s arrival, the political events in Kenya would inspire four technologists to create the globally recognized application Ushahidi. Erik Hersman, Ory Okolloh, Juliana Rotich and David Kobia created an app to quell the sporadic violence that results from the frequent inconclusive presidential elections on the continent. Ushahidi which means “witness” in Swahili rapidly evolved to become “a highly effective tool for digitally mapping demographic events.”. By the year 2009, the app became an international tech company that now has multiple applications in more than 20 countries. (rise of Silicon Savannah). These successful apps highlight the importance of investing in African youth and technological expertise. The continent needs more venture capital and investments as it is gradually becoming a central connector for ideas, entrepreneurs, investment and innovation.
Written by Kwame Wireko
Emory University | EEVM | Catalyst Associate
