Before LOOM, Nigerians were already covetous

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Stephen Adewale


Again, and again, we have been implored not to make fun of poor people who were dupes of the now vacillating Ponzi scheme, LOOM. Those of us who had warned them previously on the basis of our unfortunate experience with the previous ponzi schemes were told to be humane, to spare those who have their cash stuck in the scheme our sharp tongues and the smug of I-told-you-so. We have rightly been reminded that Nigeria is currently experiencing pangs of recession; times are so serious that people are looking for alternative alternatives to their problems. Nigeria is in poor shape, people are hopeless and therefore vulnerable, and in such a situation, they say, compassion for fellow Nigerians who have invested their lifeblood in this Ponzi series is only reasonable.


This series of admonition contain an element of reality, but they are not completely right. The depression definitely has to do with the almost hyperactive way the masses have embraced Ponzi schemes, but it does not completely explain why at least fourteen of them are thriving right now in Nigeria and they all have customers who are passionately proselytising for each. Between 2015 and December 2016, many of us also fell victim to MMM and lost tons of money. Based on personal experience, what is primarily responsible for people’s involvement in pyramid schemes is greed, simple. Greed is a universal human failing; societies evolved laws to regulate greed and prevent us from having each other for lunch on the same day.


However, one cannot speak about the popularity of Ponzi schemes without also recognising how magical thinking about cash and how it can be multiplied has been promoted by the belief system of our society. From urban legends recycled in Nollywood that encourage thoughts about money rituals, to leaders who display wealth before the public even when there is little proof of their productivity, to the frequently preached prosperity gospel in churches, individuals are so susceptible that they can be played for suckers.


Our culture has promoted a mentality that, regardless of their country’s political and economic circumstances, people can make enormous amounts of cash. People were led to believe they can disentangle themselves from their country’s destiny because, well, their situation is different. Promoting this kind of weightless individualism does not have a support structure in the organising philosophy of our society and thus opens individuals up to questionable schemes.


When people have been taught that money can come as a miracle, do not be surprised when they believe virtually anything that turns them to bendable paraphernalia in the hands of tricksters.


Online, on a parody account of a famous preacher, individuals see an image of dollars, luxury vehicles, or some other markers of wealth. A prayer is added to the picture that those “blessings” may possibly be theirs and water their eyes with the possibility of acquiring such. Then they are advised as follows, “If you have faith, type Amen,” and thousands continue to do so; poor victims who are genuinely persuaded that there is some magic to simply typing “Amen” into a prayer that provides them what they have never worked for.


Our moral values have lurched to the point there is a severe disconnect between nobility of manner, industriousness, uprightness, integrity, and what we call achievement now; no wonder that the youth are falling for Ponzi schemes. The overall reality is that Ponzi schemes would do to the educated class what Okada business did to the culture of apprenticeship and internship in Nigeria. Okada has provided a way to create quick money for poor and struggling young individuals at the cost of building abilities through which they can contribute sustainably to the development of the country. Young people who thought going to school or spending two or three years learning a vocation was monotonous and paid less were enticed into the inauspicious career of Okada for a living.


Today, construction companies in Nigeria have had to travel as far as the Republic of Benin to find skilled craftsmen. In a few years, our tertiary institutions ‘ schools would have abdicated their holy and noble duty to nurture the intellectual class of the nation and turned to recruiting centers for Ponzi schemes. Why not? We have lawmakers and religious leaders who use social media to flaunt their sports cars. Unabashedly, they drive these luxury vehicles on cratered Nigerian highways without being struck by a sense of irony. Their audience acknowledges and concludes that certain types of superlative opportunities abound; they only need to find their share.


Yes, I appreciate the defenselessness of uneducated individuals who fall into the hands of swindlers who, for example, ask for their ATM PINs. What I do not understand is how those who are educated enough to know better can believe that a scheme that turns N2,000 to N16,000 in a matter of days is legitimate. Our inability to question the kind of an unregulated enterprise that promises so much in such a short time is the bane of our society.


One of these ponzi schemes ‘ ironic items is that they all claim to share the Marxist ideology. They claim that many individuals are going to work but will never be anything because the world’s financial system operates like a Ponzi scheme itself. They have a point on this note, but their reality is so exaggerated that it snaps like a group of rubber. For example, modern banking systems can operate like a pyramid scheme, but they are controlled, do not deliver outlandish earnings, and create legitimate company investments. They are not ideal, but they are much more transparent than the systems of ponzi.


For all the LOOM and other ponzi schemes’ rages and outbursts against the subjugating fiscal policy of this world and their annihilation of masses at the bottom rung of the ladder to sustain the wealth of those at the top, it does not urge them to overthrow their bullies. Rather, it simply provides them with systems that encourage them to join the party.

































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