By Samuel Oyejola
Getting married, actually demands serious calculation, cost-counting and lots of deep thinking. To get married during economic hardship in a society like Nigeria where flamboyance is a standard carries along with it a different huddle not many men like to cross. For a businessman like John Audu, (not real name) though he never bargained to break his bank to foot the bills of his wedding ceremony yet, getting married was a thing of joy and a dream come true.
To get married is one thing and to remain happily married thereafter is a different ball game entirely. He struggled tooth and nail to feed his wife and to keep up with his new status as a family man. Being a religious man like most Nigerians are, he told Time Nigeria that “if I am to depend on the economy of Nigeria, my wife for dey chop sand”. To a lay man he survives and caters for his family by providence.
Along the line, came MMM to the rescue. Audu like many Nigerians keyed into the Ponzi scheme with all hope that it is a better alternative to keep body and soul together in the midst of the challenging economic realities in the country. He was able to pay for his house rent, keep food in his house, and carry out some of his responsibilities as a family man.
MMM is the thing, he believed and canvassed others to join with equal diligence, he dedicated to his business. He shared his testimony and that of others to people to buttress the viability and reliability of the scheme.
Out of the blue MMM stopped doling out the “awoof” money. Reality sets in. Like most Nigerians who were carried away by the small money investment- bountiful returns in a short while, he lost over N400, 000 to the scheme.
The management of the Ponzi scheme announced that that the scheme needs to upgrade its website for the obvious reason of meeting up with heavy subscription the scheme gets on a daily basis. All through the 2016 Christmas and New Year holiday the site was inoperative. It came up on the 10th of January yet it has refused to pay its subscribers.
This is not the first time Nigerians are faced with wonder banks. It has always followed the same pattern; early bird investors enjoy and leave immediately while latecomers who are obviously motivated by greed and mouthwatering testimonies of the early birds rush into the scheme and get their fingers burnt while a lot of them lick their wounds. Some are left with severe traumatic situation that can only take divine intervention.
At every point this wonder banks finds their way into the economic system of the country, the government through its financial regulators and machineries advise Nigerians to be wary of the machinations and trick of these fraudsters. In the case of MMM and Ultimate Circle and others, the National Assembly ruled that the Central Bank intervened. They also advised Nigerians against patronising the scheme. But like a dog that is destined to get lost in the jungle these set of Nigerians are deaf to the whistle of the hunters.
In fact the Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim in strong terms told Nigerians to avoid wonder banks he described as fraudsters. He insisted that insured banking and financial institutions with the stickers of NDIC in their premises or entrances should be the only one they should patronize.
“It is worrisome to note that the activities of the various illegal funds mangers otherwise known as “Wonder banks” have become unabated in recent times. Members of the public are therefore advised to patronize an insured banking institution that displays the NDIC stickers.”
Licking wounds, counting losses, and finger biting with heads down yet John Audu believes that the scheme remains the alternative way out of financial crisis for Nigerians. It is amazing how many Nigerians share this fallacy.