From Crime to Culture: A Machine Learning Study of Cybercrime (Yahoo Yahoo) Normalization among Nigerian Youths and Digital Communities

Abstract 
This study explores the normalisation of ―Yahoo 
Yahoo‖ (as cybercrime is called in popular 
parlance among Nigerian youth) and traces its 
representation in music, on social media, and 
within operatives‘ communities. Applying a 
mixed-method approach that incorporates 
content analysis of Nigeria‘s top songs between 
2017 and 2024 and sentiment analysis of 8,000 
tweets, the study illuminates how dishonorable 
conduct is beginning to be seen more as 
aspirational rather than criminal. Celebrities 
such as ShallisPopi and Naira Marley, were 
discovered to have played prominent roles in the 
spreading of Yahoo-related slang and glorifying 
narratives that fetishize instant wealth, street ―rep‖ and material opulence. 
This study relates the perception of Nigerians to 
the socio-economic issues of high rates of 
unemployment among the youth, poverty, and 
the absence of digital opportunities. It also 
identifies that there is a gap in the current body 
of literature, especially the absence of factual 
study on the impact of pop culture/social media 
on the attitude of the youth towards cyber 
crimes. Discovery states that Yahoo Yahoo is 
more than just an issue that requires 
criminalization but is an indicator or a result of 
systemic inequality/disappointment. 
The study indicates that to address this issue, 
measures beyond enforcement are needed; there 
is a need for ethical orientation, digital literacy, 
proper depiction by the media, as well as 
empowerment of the youths to provide viable 
alternatives for cybercrime.