The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has urged Nigerian students and youths to take responsibility for building their future by embracing integrity, hard work and accountable conduct.
Olukoyede gave the charge on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, when students of Wisdom Academy visited the EFCC headquarters in Abuja as part of a study tour.
The EFCC chairman, who spoke through the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity and spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, warned youths against seeking quick wealth through internet fraud, financial crimes and other forms of criminality.
“As a Commission, we are telling you that there is a future ahead but that future is to be built by you; you have to make a choice on the future that you want to build for yourself. Many young people today are taking short cuts, the short cuts of criminality, internet fraud, all manner of compromises, financial infraction and thinking that is the way to go. That is not the way to go. If you take short cuts, you are likely to be cut short,” he said.
Olukoyede encouraged the students to embrace values that could provide a sustainable foundation for their lives and careers.
“So, as young people that are interested in a future that is going to be profitable for the entire country, embrace values that are sustainable, profitable, time-tested values that you can leverage on, so that tomorrow you can be so sure that what you have built today can be able to sustain you tomorrow,” he added.
Reflecting on the name of the visiting school, Olukoyede said the concept of wisdom was particularly relevant to the fight against corruption.
“The name of your Academy, Wisdom Academy, is very instructive. Wisdom is the ability to see a problem before it becomes an emergency. And when you look at Nigeria today, for our youths and for those that are a bit advanced in age, you will see that corruption is a problem and it takes wisdom for us to be able to navigate, pattern our lives overcome this challenge,” he said.
The EFCC chairman said Nigerians were at a point where individuals had to decide whether to contribute to the country’s corruption problems or become part of the solution.
“We have found ourselves at a juncture in our country to either decide to be part of the problem or be the solution. As young people, your future is not a ready-made structure. Your future is a building that must be built. Your future is not a tower that is waiting for you to just go into, it is a super structure that you need to build yourself.”
He further warned the students against compromising the values that could help them achieve their goals.
“Nigeria is not going to build your future for you. The EFCC is not going to build your future for you. You are going to build your future by yourself, by your industry, resourcefulness, vision and commitment to profitable values.”
Olukoyede urged young Nigerians to distinguish themselves through integrity and personal responsibility rather than following negative trends among their peers.
“That is why as a young fellow, you have to stand up and say, I am going to do something differently. The only firm place that you can stand to make you rule the world is the firm place of integrity, uprightness and personal commitment to say that I am not going to be part of the crowd, I am going to separate myself to be able to move my generation forward,” he added.
He also explained the scope of the EFCC’s mandate, noting that the commission tackles various forms of economic and financial crimes.
“At the EFCC, we are doing a lot of work, we fight all manner of economic and financial crimes; contract fraud, procurement fraud, money laundering, illicit flow of funds, banking fraud, anything that is a compromise of established extant rules and regulations concerning finances and the economy, we fight them. But we cannot fight these alone if you and I do not resolve to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem,” he said.
The Head of Enlightenment and Reorientation at the EFCC, Aisha Muhammed, also urged young Nigerians to seek positive role models and mentors who can influence their outlook and future choices.
“It is very important and it is something we try to talk to the younger ones because if there is anything we realized that is affecting the young generation is lack of role models, they don’t have mentors. The EFCC is always ready to have the younger ones, you are our topmost stakeholders, because we are catching them young to build up a better generation and a better Nigeria,” she said.
Muhammed explained that the EFCC’s responsibilities extend beyond investigating and prosecuting financial crimes to include prevention and public enlightenment.
“Before EFCC arrests anyone, the EFCC tries to talk to people, we go to schools, we have Integrity Clubs in Primary and Secondary schools, we have Zero Tolerance clubs in tertiary institutions and then we have the EFCC-NYSC CDS group. We do sensitization, we have Radio and TV programmes,” she said.
She advised the students to resist peer pressure and the pursuit of quick wealth.
“We try to explain to the people that there is no comparison, our fingers are not equal. ‘Say not to peer pressure, don’t allow anybody to pressure you, you are unique, beautiful and you are the most important person even if you are sitting with a billionaire,” she added.
A representative of Wisdom Academy, Dr. Wycleff Dah, said the visit aligned with the school’s objective of raising responsible and patriotic Nigerian youths.
“The very first objective is to develop youths that are patriotic, civil, bold, wise and clever in terms of their schooling, careers, money, relationship with others. And I think you have helped in no small way to move that objective to a great point,” Dah said.
