Cybercrimes are committted through the
internet and the telephone. The advent of the internet and mobile phone
gave birth to such crimes. Hitherto, it was almost impossible for the
crimes to thrive. Cybercrimes have become a threat to most economies and
many countries have laws to fight the menace. But the same cannot be
said of Nigeria, which is lagging behind in laws to tackle the
hydraheaded problem.
It is against this backdrop that the
Director, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),
Prof Cleopas Angaye, is pushing for such a law. On why the agency is championing the
bill, Angaye said it was because Nigeria is in the same league with
“super powers” on a negative pedestal. Cybercrimes have given the county
a bad image and are posing a threat to e-commerce. “Nigeria is rated as one of the worst
cybercime nations in the world. If you go to the internet (and click)
cybercrime Nigeria, you will see that Nigeria is either one of the four
(leading cybercrime countries of the world). It becomes of utmost
concern when you count the United States and, maybe China and the United
Kingdom, and Nigeria is there. We shouldn’t be there. Nigeria is not as
advanced as these other countries. We want to be advanced in other
areas, but certainly not in crime. So, we are concerned. We want our
cyberspace to be free,” he told The Nation.
Angaye said the Cybercrime Bill was
borne out of necessity. According to him, there are two strands to the
bill: cybercrime and cybersecurity. “There are the cybercrime and the
cybersecurity issues. The cybersecurity part of the bill spells out
penalties for those who contravene the bill. Security is about how we
prepare ourselves and ensure that we secure our cyberspace against
crime,” he said. He wondered if e-commerce, especially online retailing, was possible in the country.“The question that comes to mind is: “Is it realistic for a country like Nigeria where crime rate is high?”
But in the last few years, cynics have
been proved wrong. At the last count, no fewer than a dozen online
retailing outlets have registered their presence in the country. But the
issue is how to sustain the growth in the face of obvious challenges. Though there is no data to that effect,
but the number of sites doing online retailing is a sign that it is
gaining traction in the country. There are www.konga.com, www.gloo.ng,
www.jumia.com.ng, www.kaymu.com.ng www.mybidmonster.com.ng,
www.shopkolo.com, www.ozyet.com, www.buyright.biz and others.
The former Chief Executive Officer,
sunglasses.com.ng, Jaime Moreno, said the future of e-commerce in
Nigeria is bright considering the population of the country and the
number of internet users. “In the UK, e-commerce accounts for around 10
per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) implying over $200
billion. And by 2016, it is expected to contribute more than
construction, healthcare or education. “Now, obviously Nigeria is at infancy
stage compared to UK in terms of e-commerce, but this shows the
potential the country has and where it could be heading soon. “And if some people think UK is a far
example, UK has 52 million internet users. Nigeria has 48 million, and
most likely will overpass UK by the end of 2013,” he said.
He added that lack of education about
e-commerce and lack of trust between the customers and service providers
remain challenges too. “In Nigeria, there is a large amount of internet
users, but most do not yet know they can actually buy products online,”
he added. On its impact on the labour market, he
said, Nigeria has a very large young population (over 50 per cent below
20). The wave of e-commerce will bring many new start-ups and along with
them job creation for that young population. Entrepreneurs,
self-employed and freelancers will have the key to become the engine of
growth and innovation for Nigeria.”
Given that online retailing holds huge
prospect for the economy in terms of opportunities, how could it be
developed to boost the nation’s GDP? Moreno said the government has a major
role to play. “With the potential that Nigeria has in terms of
demographics and internet dynamics, the government could power Nigeria
to become the African hub for e-commerce. Allowing intensive benefits to
technology startups in the country will definitely attract foreign
investment and will help Nigerian and international entrepreneurs to
grow and create successful companies,” he said. Other thing government
needs to fix are:
Insist on quality telecoms service
Many Nigerians access the Internet
via their mobile phones. This implies that the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC) should step-up its regulatory role so that seamless
internet services could be guaranteed.
Improved products’ delivery times
In a country where the major highways
have graduated to highways to the graves and where the rail and other
alternative means of transportation remain a luxury, delivery time could
be a challenge. The government could fix the raods and open up
alternative means of transportation. Moneyweb reported that according to
Jana, 38 per cent of South Africans report that the biggest obstacle to
online shopping is delivery times. This is in large part a reflection
on the parlous state of South Africa’s road and postal infrastructure,
and beyond the control of online retailers.
Tackling online insecurity
Nigerians are still anxious about
the security of their online information, especially without an enabling
law to punish people who breach the cyberspace. The Vice-chairman
WiniGroup Incorporation, Tim Akano, said IT security has always been
taken with levity in the country, arguing that this will make breach an
easy task by the large pool of unemployed smart graduates. “IT security is already a major concern
globally. IT security threat will become more serious in 2013 and
beyond. In Nigeria, where IT security is usually handled with levity,
with more young people acquiring IT skills and with little opportunity
to earn a decent income due to poor infrastructure that will make them
transit to technopreneure, these youths will turn to vulnerable banks,
universities, government agencies and other corporate organisations to
earn huge income by hacking into their database and sell it for handsome
fees in the online booming black market,” Akano who is also the
managing director of New Horizons Nigeria, warned.
He, however, advised organisations to
embrace encryption, adding that organisations that will go unscathed are
those that have what he described as the sven-layer-IT security
sweater.
“The way out of this pending hacking-
earthquake is for organisation to embrace encryption. Organisation that
will go unhurt, un-embarrassed and stand protected this year and beyond
will need what I call: “7-Layer IT-Security Sweater’’ to cover its
origination’s body. Fortunately, this 7-Layer IT-Security Sweater’’
already exists in Nigeria,” he said.
Written by LUCAS AJANAKU
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