EFCC Urges Students to Reject Shortcuts to Success

​ABUJA — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has charged Nigerian students and youths to take direct ownership of their futures by shunning criminality and anchoring their pursuits on enduring values of hard work and uprightness.

​The call was delivered by the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, in Abuja during a study tour of the commission’s headquarters by students and faculty members of Wisdom Academy.

​Speaking through the Head of Media and Publicity, Deputy Commander of the EFCC Dele Oyewale, the chairman stressed that a prosperous future cannot be handed down as a finished structure, but must be laboriously constructed through personal discipline and moral fortitude.

​”Many young people today are taking shortcuts—the shortcuts of criminality, internet fraud, and all manner of compromises—thinking that is the way to go,” Oyewale stated on behalf of the chairman. “If you take shortcuts, you are likely to be cut short. The only firm place that you can stand to make you rule the world is the firm place of integrity.”

​Drawing from the symbolic name of the visiting institution, Olukoyede noted that true wisdom lies in identifying systemic challenges before they manifest as national crises. He pointed out that corruption remains a formidable hurdle in Nigeria, forcing every citizen to decide whether to perpetuate the problem or join hands to eradicate it.

​The commission emphasized that neither the federal government nor anti-graft agencies can single-handedly secure a stable economic future for the younger generation without a collective cultural shift away from the get-rich-quick mentality.

​Reinforcing the commission’s preventive mandate, the Head of Enlightenment and Reorientation, Assistant Commander of the EFCC Aisha Muhammed, highlighted the acute deficit of positive mentorship plaguing the younger demographic. She explained that the agency’s youth-focused initiatives—ranging from Integrity Clubs in basic schools to Zero Tolerance clubs in tertiary institutions—are designed to catch them young and shield them from destructive peer pressure.

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​”Say not to peer pressure; don’t allow anybody to pressure you,” Muhammed told the students, emphasizing individual uniqueness over material comparison.

​Responding on behalf of the visiting contingent, Dr. Wycleff Dah expressed profound gratitude to the anti-graft agency for reinforcing the academy’s core mission of fostering patriotism, civic responsibility, and sound moral judgment among students.