ACSP: Prof. Tsetimi Calls For National Strategy To Re-Channel ‘Yahoo Boys’ Talent Into Cybersecurity

Abuja, Nigeria – October 22, 2025 – The maiden edition of the Association of Cyber Security Practitioners (ACSP) monthly seminar series concluded with resounding applause on October 22, following a provocative and highly strategic presentation by Professor Jonathan Tsetimi of Delta State University, Nigeria.

Speaking to an impressive virtual audience, Prof. Tsetimi challenged national policymakers to view the skills driving cybercrime as a strategic national asset that must be ethically rechanneled into cybersecurity.

The virtual event, held via Zoom, attracted an impressive international audience of approximately 670 participants, including academics, practitioners, and policymakers from across Nigeria, other African nations, and the United States.

The inaugural seminar was held under the distinguished chairmanship of Professor Monioluwa Olaniyi, former Vice-Chancellor of Technology, Innovation and Research at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

The event’s significance was further highlighted by the presence of ACSP founder, Professor Emeritus Peter Akinsola Okebukola, and the current ACSP President, Professor Isaac Odesola, along with the association’s executive members. The attendance, which cut across various academic disciplines globally, confirmed the urgency of the discourse and underscoring the universal nature of the cybersecurity challenge.
From Liability to Asset:

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The Core of the Presentation
Professor Tsetimi’s paper, titled “From Yahoo Boys to Cybersecurity Experts: Redirecting Youth Talent for National Development,” argued that Nigeria’s youth possess one of the most technologically adaptable and resourceful populations globally. However, systemic issues like unemployment and a culture of immediate gratification have tragically misdirected this digital ingenuity into cybercrime, colloquially known as ‘Yahoo-Yahoo.’

“The core technical aptitude—manifested in capabilities like advanced social engineering, rapid digital adaptation, and network probing—represents a strategic, sovereign asset,” stated Prof. Tsetimi.

He asserted that a sustainable national defense requires a massive, structural program dedicated to the redirection of this latent technical talent, turning a national security vulnerability into a formidable economic and defense advantage.

He argued that punitive measures alone, such as the Cybercrime Act, 2015, have failed to contain the exponential growth of the threat.

Adding: “Instead, a complementary, large-scale human capital management strategy is required to harness the inherent skills—like rapid tool adoption, advanced social engineering mastery, and persistent problem-solving—which are currently the engines of the criminal “crime-grid.”

Quantifying the Crisis and Latent Skills
Prof. Tsetimi provided sobering statistics on the economic cost of inaction. Citing data from the EFCC, NPF-NCCC, and industry reports, he noted that Nigerian businesses face an estimated 4,388 cyberattacks per week (Q1 2025).

Furthermore, his longitudinal analysis estimated that the cumulative economic loss due to cybercrime over the past decade (2016-2025) approaches a staggering $4.185 billion.

“This is not a deficit of digital talent,” Prof. Tsetimi asserted, saying: “It is a deficiency in the structured, legitimate pathways that offer comparable reward and status to the illicit path. Every successful cyber-fraudster is a lost national asset.”

Rather than focusing solely on condemnation, Prof. Tsetimi detailed the valuable skills possessed by the individuals often involved in these crimes—the “Latent Technical Talent.”

These include:
• Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Proficiency: Advanced ability in gathering and applying Open-Source Intelligence, a foundational skill for legitimate threat intelligence.

• Adaptability to Evasive Networking: Expertise in deploying VPNs and proxies to evade detection, which is invaluable for designing robust defensive architectures.

• Psychological Warfare & Trust Exploitation: A deep understanding of human psychology, crucial for effective penetration testing (Red Teaming) and security awareness training.
The Strategic Way Forward: Conditional Amnesty and Cyber-Corps

The enduring solution, according to Prof. Tsetimi, lies in providing equally compelling, high-reward, and legitimate alternatives.

He proposed a holistic strategy of Structured Talent Empowerment to systematically “re-skill” and “re-orient” this specific youth demographic.

Key recommendations included:
1. Reversing the Apprenticeship Model: Creating Cybersecurity Skill Development Centres through robust Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to provide intensive, boot camp-style training focused on defensive security and ethical hacking.

2. The National Cyber-Corps Initiative: A Federal Government program offering guaranteed employment to program graduates within critical government MDAs and the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) sector, channeling talent directly into national defense.

3. A Conditional Amnesty and Legal Redirection Pact: This bold, high-stakes proposal calls for a strictly controlled, time-bound conditional amnesty for individuals involved in non-violent, cyber-enabled financial crimes. Protection from prosecution would be granted only upon the successful completion of the Cyber-Corps program and a mandatory service period to the government, requiring full disclosure of criminal methods to bolster national threat intelligence.

Prof. Tsetimi concluded that this holistic model of Redirection, Education, and Empowerment is essential to achieving the Cybersecurity Dividend, which promises economic acceleration, improved foreign exchange earnings, and the fortification of national defense systems.
Commendation and Commitment

The presentation was met with enthusiastic commendation during the Q&A session, with participants taking turns to contribute to the important national discourse.

ACSP President, Professor Isaac Odesola, remarked that the very successful outing was a clear indication of “good things to come” for the association and the nation’s cybersecurity posture.

While commending the ACSP executive for the success of the maiden edition of the seminar series, the Chairman of the occasion, Professor Monioluwa Olaniyi, urged ACSP to ensure that a communique from this seminar gets to the relevant government agencies.

The founder, Professor Emeritus Peter Akinsola Okebukola, encouraged the executives to sustain the tempo of planned activities, especially with the monthly seminar series, which is set to become a flagship platform for national strategy and talent development in the cyber domain. The seminar concluded with a clear consensus: securing Nigeria’s digital future requires acknowledging that the skill set driving cybercrime is the same one required for national cyber-defense, necessitating a strategic shift from simple retribution to national asset transformation.