'Sakawa'',Genesis and Effects

Cyber internet fraud a.k.a ''Sakawa'' is a terminology which is derived from Hausa,a widely spoken language in West Africa,literally meaning ''putting inside''

It emerged in the late nineties by few youngsters who were highly intelligent and smart mainly in the Zongo communities namely Nima,Mamobi and Newtown.

At that time it involved the use of credit cards to do online shopping which were either shipped directly to Ghana or through partners oversees.The inflow of Nigerians into the country when they realize scamming was no longer lucrative in their country gave a new twist into the game.They brought new ideas and modus operandi which resonated well with their counterparts down here.

Men posed as women and chat with unsuspecting victims online with the pretense of been in love with them leading to marriage and demanded huge sums of money and gifts from them.Others also resorted to business transactions with victims online such as Gold dust,timber,securities and oil in which they used sophisticated documents from government agencies to lure their victims to authenticate their claims.Another modus was the issuance of fake checks in the name of their victims to be cashed at their respective banks and later wired to them as well as the hacking of bank details and credit cards to transfer money from one bank account to the other.

These activities sprung to major areas especially in the southern sector of the country.Most of the youth who saw it as very lucrative believe that it was a God sent to relieve them of their predicaments and hardship.Until recently another modus operandi has been added to the phenomenon which is voodooism.They engage in occults and other spiritual assistance to facilitate their activities and enrich them selves more whiles others resort to blood money known in our local parlance as ''sika aduro''.These have brought about three groups in these activities which are 1.Those who link cyber fraud with voodooism 2.Those who strictly use their brains and discount voodooism.3.Those who seek blood money a.k.a sika eduro with the pretense of also engaging in cyber fraud.

The practice has become so intensive that the security services have become handicapped and could not contain it any longer.Its obvious that there well over 100,000 people indulged in these activities till date.

Factors That Accounted For Rapid Growth

unemployment is a major undeniable factor which has plunge many youth in these fraudulent activities.Most of the youth that indulge in these activities are viable from deprived areas and slums,hence low level of education and skills.Therefore they resort into it as a means of improving their standard of living.

Greediness and the burning desire to get rich over night is also a factor to that.

The perception of corruption among our political leaders also has a stake in it.Most of them believe since their leaders will use the pen and paper to defraud the state and live flamboyant life styles at their expense ,they will also use the internet to get money and solve most of the problems confronting them as citizens.

The notion that its pay back time for our colonial masters who deprived us and stole our natural resources to build and develop their countries leaving us in absolute poverty also has a role in it.

Peer pressure in instances when people see their colleagues driving in flashy cars,wearing of quality clothes and having all the better girls,they are forced into it so they could also live an ostentatious life.

Negative Effect on economy

Ghana has been shortlisted among countries with high rate of cyber fraud which does not augur well for the business community.A lot of business has suffered due to lack of confidence dealing with clients in Ghana hence government loosing revenue especially from the private sector.

E-commerce has also suffered major setbacks due to restriction of Ghana to part take in online trade on most of the international companies websites.

The government will have to spend scarce resources to combat these crime which could have been used for other infrastructural development.

Human resources is been depleted since most of the youth who indulge in these don't find education and acquiring of skills relevant since they are able to meet their daily needs and live with much comfort.

Positive Effect on economy

The economy has seen a significant increase in remittances during the last decade.Research has showed that remittances increased from $449million in 1999 to $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion in 2007 and 2008 respectively.Undoubtedly cyber fraud played a significant role in achieving these success when it was at its peak within those period.Most of the money accrued from those activities were sent by victims through the various money transfer systems and banks.One could imagine the number of people involved in those activities and the gravity of money been sent to them,its no wonder when u visit most of these money transfer outlets and 95% of the people receiving cash are engaged in cyber fraud.

How ever the trend has changed due to the credit crunch that has hit the world.Its has culminated in making cyber fraud not that attractive any longer since most of the victims send less money or do not send at all due to the high level of unemployment,Hence the decline in remittances for the first quarter of 2009.

Remedy

The government has to act swiftly in building more infrastructure such educational and training facilities in these deprived areas so as to enhance their skills and educational level.More job opportunities should be created and small loan schemes should be provided to enable people who acquire technical skills to start an enterprise.

The security agencies must also boost up their operations and strategies so as to make the operations of the fraudsters unattractive and recommend stiffer punishments for offenders.

Parents,religious and community leaders have a vital role to play in educating or preaching morality and discipline to the youth and must be concerned about the day to day activities of their wards and members so as to curb these menace.

Conclusion

Its important the role of the youth in nation building is not under estimated,there should be enabling platform to engage the youth into useful activities to curb some of the major problems confronting us as a nation.The kind of generation we build today will determine our future as a country.Therefore lets embrace our collective responsibility in making and building a vibrant and skillful youth force for the task ahead.

CHIEF OBOSU MOHAMMED

A Zongo Youth Activist

obosu.mohammed@yahoo.com