By Isaac Damian Ezirim
The digital revolution has changed the way we live, learn, and connect. In Nigeria, the internet is no longer a luxury it is fast becoming a necessity, particularly for young people. With over 40% of Africa’s youth aged 15-24 now online, and nearly 175,000 Nigerian children connecting to the internet for the first time every day, the urgency to address digital safety is undeniable. Yet, the online space remains largely unregulated, underprotected, and dangerously underprepared to handle the vulnerabilities of its youngest users.
In the last five years, we’ve witnessed an alarming increase in online harms ranging from cyberbullying and digital addiction to misinformation and child sexual exploitation. Recent studies suggest that over 20% of children in African countries experience some form of online sexual exploitation, yet only 5–22% are aware of existing online safety tools. These numbers don’t just reflect a safety gap they represent a systemic failure to safeguard a generation coming of age in the digital world.
At Virtually Safe, our work has shown that Nigeria’s digital safety crisis isn’t a lack of willingness to protect it’s a lack of strategy, structure, and scale. From our school-based internet safety clubs to our national online safety tour reaching over 70,000 students in 439 schools across 22 states, we’ve seen firsthand how education, awareness, and community engagement can transform digital behavior. But these interventions, however impactful, must move from isolated efforts to national priorities.
Digital harm is evolving. What used to be confined to cyberbullying or inappropriate content now includes deepfakes, AI-generated scams, algorithmic manipulation, and increasingly, youth participation in online gambling and exploitation platforms. Nigeria is not immune to these global threats. If anything, our youthful, mobile-first population makes us a testing ground for both opportunity and abuse. The question is: how prepared are we to secure their future?
The traditional response parental controls, reactive policing, and generic safety campaigns simply no longer work. Digital safety must evolve beyond awareness to include innovation. That’s why we developed Qova.io, an AI-powered digital companion trained specifically to identify, respond to, and guide young users through online challenges. Qova analyzes behavior patterns, offers real-time safety advice, and provides culturally relevant content in formats young people can trust and understand. This kind of technology-driven solution is no longer a nice-to-have it’s a necessity.
But even the best technology is ineffective without a foundation of digital literacy and shared responsibility. That’s why we are integrating digital safety into the classroom through our Internet Safety Clubs 16 of which are already active across Lagos. Through storytelling, games, peer education, and hands-on workshops, students are empowered to become advocates, not just passive consumers of safety messages. It’s this grassroots approach grounded in education, scaled by technology that gives us hope.
We cannot talk about a safe digital future without also addressing policy and infrastructure. Nigeria lacks a comprehensive digital safety framework tailored to the realities of its youth. There is little to no legislation around algorithmic harm, online exploitation, or the data privacy of minors. Tech platforms remain largely self-regulated, and educational curricula do not yet include structured internet safety education. At Virtually Safe, our research and stakeholder forums have resulted in concrete policy recommendations. But these recommendations must be met with political will and cross-sector commitment.
A national internet safety strategy must go beyond enforcement. It must include:
Mandatory digital safety education in schools,
Accessible reporting systems for online abuse, Youth-led innovation challenges to create localized tools, and Public-private partnerships that hold tech companies accountable for creating safer platforms.
We must understand that digital safety is not a youth problem it is a societal issue. When young people fall prey to scams, abuse, or exploitation, it affects families, communities, and ultimately, national development. A country where children are unsafe online cannot build a trustworthy, inclusive digital economy.
Nigeria stands at a crossroads. We have the data, the tools, and the grassroots momentum. What we now need is alignment between government policy, educational institutions, civil society, and the private sector. The internet isn’t going away, and neither are its risks. But with intentional, evidence-based action, we can ensure that our children inherit a digital world that is not just connected, but safe.
Footnote – Isaac Damian Ezirim is an online safety advocate, Trust & Safety expert, cybersecurity professional, and social entrepreneur with a deep passion for digital inclusion, AI governance, internet safety, and digital well-being. His work focuses on creating safe, inclusive, and ethical digital ecosystems, ensuring that technology serves people-not harm them.