Some Nigerians on Twitter have condemned former minister of petroleum resources Diezani Alison-Madueke’s comment on internet fraudsters otherwise known as ‘Yahoo boys’.
Diezani had in a virtual event organised by Ijaw National Development Group said that “Yahoo Yahoo boys” are respected in the society.
The publisher of Point Blank News, Jackson Ude, posted the footage from the event on Twitter.
“The ones that have swag, the Yahoo Yahoo boys, as my son would say; these, in short, are the role models they are looking at. These are the ones that reinforce negative societal norms and values,” Diezani said.
“This is a travesty of an unfolding tragedy for us. Why have I spent time talking about fatherless homes and the impact it has on our children? The truth of the matter is that an irresponsible boy tends to become an irresponsible man and it is, therefore, a vicious cycle. If you plant yam, you cannot harvest plantain.”
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Diezani who is currently facing allegations of bribery and money laundering in London and Nigeria highlighted the importance of mentorship for young people, saying only hard work could guarantee success.
Although reports indicate the long-running British probe into Diezani has yet to yield any charges, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has pending corruption charges against her.
However, some of the properties linked to her have been forfeited to the Nigerian government while the recently Suspended EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu in February said she allegedly stole so much money that she needed to be extradited to the country to return them all.
Following her comments on internet fraudsters, Nigerians on Twitter, however, nicknamed Diezani “Hushmummy”
Hushmummy was derived from the alias of a popular internet fraudster Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known as Huspuppi. He was arrested earlier in June along with Olalekan Jacob Ponle, who is also known as Woodberry.
The gang was responsible for Dh1.6 billion (about N169 billion) fraud involving over 1.9 million victims. Items worth N15.845 billion (Dh 150 million) were also seized.
Below are some ongoing live comments and reactions to Diezani statement on ‘Yahoo boys’
