Our Greed, Their Greed

​They came with their schemes

They promised us a 30%

They were indeed doing this

They called out to the greed in us

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We embraced them

We swallowed their truths

Hook, line and sinker

Our deal was signed sealed and delivered

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We gladly preached them like the gospel

We spoke to friends we had abandoned

Our enemies we became cozy with

Just to make more people join the wagon

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They struck at us suddenly like an adder

The poison ran into our blood

We had headaches and heart attacks

As they controlled our money

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We didn’t read the terms and conditions

It was our undoing

We didn’t know of the ‘spare cash’ clause

We made the scheme a business

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Our poverty and cravings for more got us here

Promises are unfulfilled

It wasn’t the first time they came

This time they used a special cloak
©Booky Glover, 2017

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The ponzi scheme got here. I don’t know about your country. It is a means to get rich quick. This is not the first time networking business will come to Nigeria.

The networking business has been here since I was 8 years old (1998). I remember my Dad coming home with five certificates he bought. The certificates had names on it. His name was at the bottom; level 5, once he sells all the five certificate he moves to level 4 and so he continues to move upward. He never got anywhere, he wasted money, time and energy. Those he sold to where not able to get theirs sold, so he couldn’t move up the ladder. He had his eyes on a million naira with a Honda car as incentive, of course that was for level 1- The Grand Prize.

The offer of these networking business are usually tempting and mouth watering. They promise paradise on earth but the truth is not so far. Once you don’t get people to move you up in the business, you crash. Loss for you, gain for them.

Networking business have different cloaks. For some you pay money to another person’s account, for some you have to sell drugs and/or beauty products. Please, get me right, there is nothing wrong with the science of Networking Business, it’s the people involved. The company and the people.

The ponzi scheme called out to the greed in many Nigerians. Hey, you sit in your house, pay some money, wait for 30 days and a 30% interest is paid. This said Scheme do not tell us where they generate the 30% interest from. Even banks don’t give a 30% interest after 30 days, come on!

I pondered about this particular scheme and I discovered they were here to do more harm than good. Put in mind that in the terms and conditions it was started that investors were to use their ‘spare cash’.

Nigeria being a country whose populace struggle to survive, trying to make ends meet saw it as an answer to prayers. People started putting in money, capital of their business, borrowed money… Just to get a 30% interest. I knew the offer was too good to be true. Some people like me who refused to be swayed by the rush for quick money was jeered at. They told us we could become millionaires.

People became lazy. Full grown men, laze around, eating, drinkin and waiting for 30 days. When the money comes, they spend it on frivolous things.

Last year December a ban was placed on the people’s money by the Ponzi company. They said withdrawals were more than paying in. In their terminology “Get Help” was more than “Provide Help”. Many Nigerians who had thought of getting money for the December festivities hit the wall. Rumours began to spread, some people said that the scheme was fake and finally had carted off with the money of the people. January 12, 2017, the ban on the money was lifted but it was a different ball game altogether. Only small investors were paid, the large investors money are still withheld. I heard recently that some of them have begun to commit suicide. Also the promised 30% has been reduced to 7% interest after 30 days.

The ponzi scheme was a get-rich-quick scheme to supposedly lift people out of poverty but it has not done that. It has helped to kill initiative and creativity of Nigerians. If left to continue, development in Nigeria will come to a stand still, standard of education will fall lower, countries that have exploited us covertly will do so boldly and there will be no stopping it.

Mark my words, they will come again in another cloak. I hope my people will recognize them before another damage can be done.

Until next time,

Blessings!