From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society has expressed worry over the rate of internet fraud called Yahoo Yahoo and corruption in Nigeria, stating that the government must embark on internet training for students to use their knowledge for the good of the country.
The National Chief Imam of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, who spoke to our correspondent in Osogbo, Osun State, on Sunday, during the train-the-trainer, a sensitization programme tagged ‘Eat Halal,’ said the society has realized the danger in the internet usage and decided to make use of its advantages.
Adeyemi who described Nigeria as one of the best in policy formation, expressed displeasure that implementation is lacking in all the activities of Nigerian governments.
He explained that the 30 youths selected for training on how best to use the internet for the benefit of their family and the country, would also go and train other people and internet fraud would be reduced.
“Our governments have good intentions but corruption will not allow them to work. When it comes to policies, no country in the world can stand with Nigeria, but when it comes to implementation, no country can Nigeria stand, that is our challenge. No matter how good the policy is, corruption will destroy it. Unless we have a government who is determined to make that difference. I don’t lose hope, but you can hardly see a government that is not corrupt in Nigeria.
“We want to strengthen our young ones for them to make use of the internet. With the negative effect of the Yahoo Yahoo boys, we can not continue to complain alone without being pragmatic. What do we do as an organization and leaders, that is why we created this program.
“Instead of doing something illegal, they will use the same system, the same platform to be doing things legally with no extra funds, and the entire world will be proud of them. We want them to make good use of the Internet. What they use negatively, we want to turn it into positive that will be beneficial for the country and their family.
“We have all been shouting and complaining, we have to let our children be modest to be better people in the community. The number is about 30. It is to train the trainers. Adults will soon be dragged in. It is expected to have an indirect impact.
“We carefully selected the students from schools among their colleagues. Some states are giving us more support to expand the programme in their state. Kebbi is in that. We tried to get in touch with other governments and various institutions to do this more for their people, but we can not beg them. We can only do the little we can do.
“MacArthur Foundation is supporting us. We are doing it in seven other states like Lagos, Kebbi, Sokoto, FCT, Kogi, Kaduna, and Kwara. We want the trainees to know that tomorrow starts today so that they can make the best use of their time. Very soon, many people will regret. They should not think they are young,” Adeyemi said.
The chairman, Bar Akeem Adesiyan, explained that the purpose of the ‘Eat Halal’ programme is to sensitize the youths on how to make the society to be free from corruption.
“We want to make sure that our youths are trained on how best to use the computer for something legal. Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of our society, we want to get rid of it and the best way to do it is what Al Habibiyyah has started in Nigeria,” Adesiyan said.