In a move to expand digital safety and prepare young people for tech-centred careers, fifty secondary school students in Lagos have begun a 10-week cybersecurity awareness and empowerment training programme. The scheme, which kicks off this September, is aimed squarely at bridging the growing gap in digital skills that many youths face in Nigeria.
The initiative is a collaboration between Cybernova Limited and the Rotary Club of Lagos, designed to deliver practical and foundational knowledge across ten key modules. These include cybersecurity basics, the management of digital identities, recognising cyber threats, ethical hacking, understanding cyber law, data privacy, good cyber hygiene, boosting digital literacy, honing critical thinking, navigating social media responsibly, and pathways to career opportunities in tech.
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Why The Cybersecurity Training Matters
According to the President of the Rotary Club of Lagos, Toki Mabogunje, the programme emerges from a pressing need: protecting young people from the real dangers in the digital space, and also preparing them to be leaders in a world dominated by digital technologies. She points out that while the internet brings enormous opportunities, it carries risks — from misinformation to threats against financial security — that disproportionately affect the young and the uninformed.
Mabogunje emphasised three core goals:
- To ensure students live more safely in digital environments;
- To equip them with skills that will open doors in future job markets;
- To inspire them to become changemakers in their communities by raising awareness and modelling safe digital behaviour.
She further noted that cyber threats are already severely impacting industries, especially banking, in Nigeria. By enhancing digital education now, she suggests, the country may avoid deeper vulnerabilities in the near future.
Alignment with National Digital Education Goals
Nigeria’s Federal Government has recently introduced coding and robotics into the school curriculum nationwide. While many see this move as long overdue, this cybersecurity training complements those reforms by adding a layer of digital safety and ethics to technical skills. Mabogunje described the national curriculum update as essential, saying it aligns well with what the programme aims to achieve: producing youth not just literate in tech, but also secure, responsible, and thoughtful in their digital interactions.
Cybernova Limited brings to the table specialised expertise in cybersecurity, and the partnership with Rotary ensures both reach and community grounding. Together, they hope to ensure that the graduating students are equipped beyond just certificates — that they possess practical awareness that they can apply immediately in their day-to-day lives online.
What’s Next for the Participants
Over the course of the next ten weeks, these students will engage in a structured curriculum that weaves theoretical knowledge with hands-on learning. Modules will provide opportunities for them to practise ethical hacking in safe environments, understand their rights under cyber laws, and learn how to keep data private. There will also be sessions on digital hygiene — simple but powerful habits that reduce risk of cyber-attack — and how to think critically online.
By the end of the programme, organisers expect the students not only to be more aware of cyber risks, but to be better prepared for roles in the tech ecosystem — whether in industries, startups, or as digital safety advocates in their communities.
Rotary Lagos and Cybernova believe that this kind of empowerment will ripple outwards: students trained in cybersecurity skills can safeguard themselves and others, contribute to safer online spaces, and be part of Nigeria’s broader transformation into a digitally resilient society.
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