Embrace digital innovation, resilience integrity, EFCC tells youths
Ola Olukoyede, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has charged Nigerian graduates and youths to embrace technological and digital innovation, resilience and integrity as the true markers of success beyond academic qualifications.
Delivering the 2025 Convocation Lecture at the 17th convocation of Redeemer’s University, Ede, titled “Beyond Degrees: Cultivating Purpose, Resilience and Service in a Complex World,” Olukoyede said degrees alone are no longer sufficient to thrive in a fast-evolving digital economy.
He urged the youth to leverage the vast opportunities in the digital ecosystem, noting that the digital ecosystem is almost a bottomless reservoir of opportunities waiting to be harnessed.
According the EFCC boss, many young Nigerians have become global references in technology and creativity by believing in themselves and thinking innovatively.
”The reality is that many young Nigerian graduates have found purpose exploiting the resources of digital space and creating jobs for thousands of their compatriots. Thousands of others are anonymously working online and earning income in foreign exchange. Others with extraordinary skills in skit making, forex an d cryptocurrency trading and sundry investments are making it really big,” he said.
He also warned against the lure of quick wealth, advising graduates to resist peer pressure and the temptation to engage in crime, stressing that “On no account must you yield to the pressure to get rich quick. Never allow peer pressure and the desperation to belong lead you to crime. If you do, you might earn temporary riches, which ultimately will land you in infamy as the wealth earned through crooked means never last.”
Olukoyede further emphasized that resilience and character remain the enduring rules of success, adding, “Whatever objectives you have set for yourself today, realizing them is dependent on a number of social, economic and political factors. Those who will succeed are the ones who are able to weather the storms of life.. Resilience is about holding on to your dreams, overcoming obstacles and challenges to leave your mark in the sands of time.”
Shadrach Akindele, Professor and Vice Chancellor of the institution, said the convocation lecture blended directly into the heart of the mission of the University to raise champions who combine academic excellence with Godly character, purpose driven leadership and the commitment to transforming society.
Akindele reiterated that Redeemer’s University is more than just a citadel of learning, it is a mission driven community dedicated to simple leaders who will transform the morals, social and economic skill of Africa.
