Almost every year in Nigeria, there is usually the presence of one Ponzi scheme or the other operating under the guise of a legitimate business, thereby luring investors by promising them huge profit returns. Within some time, these schemes vanish into oblivion with investors’ money, leaving them in pain and regret. Most Nigerians, seem never to have learned their lesson from the MMM scheme that dashed the hope of over three million Nigerians.
They seem to quickly forget their ordeals with these so-called schemes, as they do not hesitate to always try out new ones with the hope that they won’t be like the previous ones. One will wonder, why these people who invest in such schemes can’t read the handwriting on the wall with these so-called schemes. I came to realize that several factors push most Nigerians to invest in these schemes. Factors such as Greed, Rising inflation rate, Unemployment, Perceived poor performance of the capital market, etc have exposed Nigerians to speculative and dubious schemes with victims losing over N300 billion in the last five years.
The recent Ponzi scheme currently on the lips of a lot of Nigerians is the Chinmark investment platform which is run by Marksman Ijomah Chinedu, who according to reports has absconded with investors’ money to an unknown location. He was said to have established the investment platform, promising investors with mouth-watering returns on their investment.
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As usual, most Nigerians fell for it as it did not take time before they embraced the scheme, only for them to be duped. While surfing the internet today, I came across a news post that disclosed that one of the investors in the crashed Chinmark Investment Ponzi scheme, identified as Nuella (not real name), has been reported dead after she committed suicide. Reading this sad news took a toll on my emotion, as I became sober and at the same time angry that no strict measures have been put out by the government to clamp down on these Ponzi schemes and their operators that are constantly wreaking havoc on citizens in the country.
These schemes have on countless occasions defrauded gullible Nigerians, causing them pain with recorded few death cases. The security and exchange commission (SEC) has in the past disclosed that it has engaged the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as well as other regulators to curb illegal Ponzi schemes in the country. Although it seems as if no strict actions have been properly implemented as these Ponzi schemes continue to thrive in the country.
The government must understand that the operation of these Ponzi schemes in the country undermines the reputation of the capital market, dampens foreign investors’ confidence, and limits the circulation of money, which often affects the economy. The government might be quick to blame those who engage in such schemes, citing greed as the reason for most people investing in them.
But they must understand one thing, these Ponzi schemes have adverse effects on the economy of the country when they look at it with a holistic approach. The fact that so many Ponzi schemes continue to thrive in the country shows that the government cares less about the damages they cause not just to the people, but also to the Nigerian economy.
If citizens of the country channel the money they invest in Ponzi schemes to the Nigerian capital markets, there will be more industries created which will therefore create employment opportunities, more production activities, and the likes. This country has lost a lot of money to the Ponzi scheme which has in a way affected the country’s economy as well as the citizens of the country. It’s high time the government enforces strict rules to restrict any Ponzi scheme from operating in the country, as well as clamping down on already existing ones.