By Correspondent in Ilorin
The Vice Chancellor, Al- hikmah University, llorin in Kwara state, Prof. Noah Yusuf, has warned students against cyber crimes, saying the institution would continue to sensitse its students to shun cybercrime or ‘Yahoo’.
Yusuf,who said this at an event commemorating his one year in office as the 5th VC of the institution,added that the institution had an academic programme that called cyber security as one of the things to curb cybercrime, being one of the few institutions implementing such into its academic planning in the country.
He explained that the programme provided the students, positive education about cyber,aimed at preventin8 them from using the medium to commit crime but for their benefit and the society in general.
According to him, the programme is just one in many done to ensure the students of Al-hikmah University are not part of the perpetrators of such act.
He said, “Cyber crime is common in the youths of today and what Al-hikmah has done is to contribute by sensitising it’s students on reasons to avoid practising the crime.”
The VC listed numerous challenges confronting private and public universities in Nigeria to include: inadequate funding, infrastructural deficit, brain drain, political interference, students anti-social acts in form of cultism, drug abuse, sexual harassment, examination misconduct etc.
“Also, negative work attitude of an average Nigerian, disruption of academic calendar due to incessant strikes by University Union, uncooperative and at times, hostile host communities, are what affects Universities generally,”he added.
The VC disclosed that the institution experienced cyber crime in form of hacking but was able to tackle it due to the measures put in place.
“This has also made the institution to have a partnership with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in which officers of the commission came to sensitize the students on Anti-corruption acts and cyber crime.
Yusuf said the institution had, in the last one year,” established income generation ventures such as car wash, laundry services, support for water factory through facilitation, community Outreach,Al-hikmah online radio and in the process of commencing university community radio.”
According to Yusuf, the university will establish more viable academic programmes as a way of improving enrolment and income generation to the institution.
” In fulfilling this promise, the Centre for Peace and Security Studies was established under the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and has commenced academic activities, essentially with postgraduate programmes in Peace and Security Studies,he added.”
