The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has called on students and youths across the country to be the builders of their own future by embracing integrity and accountable conduct.
He gave the charge in Abuja on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 when students of Wisdom Academy came on a study tour of the EFCC’s headquarters.
The Chairman, who spoke through the Head, Media & Publicity and Spokesperson of the Commission, Deputy Commander of the EFCC, DCE Dele Oyewale, stated the future of youths will be determined by what they build themselves through hard work, integrity and avoidance of criminal tendencies
“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. 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 said.
“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.
Olukoyede noted that many Nigerians have found themselves between either accepting to be part of the problem of corruption facing Nigeria or joining in the efforts to combat it for the benefit of all.
“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.”
The EFCC Chairman warned them against compromising the values and ethics that have the potential to help them achieve life goals, adding that “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.”
“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.
“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.
Speaking on the need for young Nigerians to have good role models, Head, Enlightenment and Reorientation, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Aisha Muhammed stated that the EFCC is concerned with young Nigerians having role models that can shape their perception for a better future.
“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 told the visitors that the EFCC does not only prosecute economic and financial crimes but also prevent and investigate financial offences. “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 further said.
She called on the students to live a life of integrity and avoid get-rich-quick syndrome and peer pressure. “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.
Representative of Wisdom Academy, Dr. Wycleff Dah appreciated the EFCC, stating that the first objective of Wisdom Academy is to develop good citizenship in Nigeria. “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,” she said.
