Urgent: Cybersecurity Education In Nigerian Schools

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking to pupils and students in two primary schools and one secondary school. As a threat intelligence professional and cybersecurity educator, I have held sessions like this before. However, this time, something else struck me: neither the students nor their teachers had a basic understanding of cyber safety.

Simple concepts like social engineering, two-factor authentication, and even understanding the risks of talking to strangers online were completely new to them. These are not novel concepts; they are fundamental, especially in today’s digital world. Yet, most people in those classrooms were hearing them for the very first time. This is a serious problem.

Children today are born into the digital age. From their earliest years, they are using phones, tablets, and the internet. But while they may know how to open apps or create social media profiles, very few of them truly understand how to protect themselves online.

During my sessions, I asked simple questions like, “Do you know what phishing means?” or “Have you heard of two-factor authentication?” The silence in response was loud. Some pupils admitted to chatting with strangers online. Others did not see anything wrong with clicking suspicious links. Unfortunately, their teachers were just as unaware.

It made me realise we are pushing children deeper into the digital world without equipping them to stay safe in that world.

Many people still view cybersecurity as a field reserved for professionals working in banks, tech companies, or government agencies. That mindset is part of the problem. Cybersecurity is a life skill, something everyone should learn, just like reading, writing, or crossing the road.

If a child is old enough to use a smartphone, they’re old enough to learn how to protect their personal information. If a teenager is managing a social media profile, they should know what to do if they are being harassed or blackmailed online.

We teach our children how to stay safe from strangers in public places. Why are we not teaching them how to stay safe from strangers on the internet?

I came away from these school visits with a clearer understanding that we need to start with teachers. Many of them had never been trained on digital safety or cyber hygiene. Some had never even updated their passwords or used multi-factor authentication.

If we want cybersecurity awareness to reach the students, their educators need to be empowered first. This means:

• regular training for teachers on basic cybersecurity concepts;
• simple guides and resources that they can use in class; and
• encouragement to practice what they teach so they can serve as good role models.

In many homes, parents hand phones or tablets to their kids to keep them entertained. But most don’t supervise what these kids are doing online. Some parents even give children access to their work phones and confidential platforms such as banking apps, inadvertently putting their family’s information and finances at risk.

We need parents to:

• talk to their children about what is safe and unsafe online;
• monitor usage in age-appropriate ways; and
• stay informed so they can protect their homes and children from cyber risks.

This is not about spying on children; it is about protecting them in the cyber space the same way we protect them in the physical world.

The lack of cybersecurity education in schools is not just an oversight, it is a national gap. We cannot continue to roll out digital services and push tech-driven growth while ignoring the safety of the people using them, especially the most vulnerable.

Here is what I believe needs to happen:

• Add cybersecurity and digital safety to school curricula, starting from the primary level.
• Train teachers across the country, especially those in public schools, on how to teach digital safety.
• Work with cybersecurity experts, NGOs, and the private sector to provide tools, training, and resources for schools.
• Create public awareness campaigns targeting children and adults about online threats and how to handle them.

We often say children are the leaders of tomorrow. But how can they lead if they are vulnerable to the most basic threats online? The same internet that helps them learn and grow also exposes them to scammers, bullies, and predators. If we do not step in now to teach them how to navigate that space safely, the consequences will follow them into adulthood.

Cybersecurity is not a topic for tech experts alone. It is something every Nigerian child, parent, and teacher needs to understand because the digital world is already here, and our children are right in the middle of it.

If we want them to thrive in that world, we must first teach them how to survive in it.

Hassanat Oladeji is a threat intelligence analyst, cybersecurity researcher, and mentor. She is the founder of CyHawk, a real-time cyber threat information platform. She has advised multiple CISOs while working with a leading commercial bank, fintech, and MSSP.