My recent post on MMM Ponzi drew divergent responses. On Bella Naija, my backside was practically roasted with the vitriolic comments from those who feel that MMM is a divine intervention. After all, why is it my problem if someone wants to start a bonfire with his money?
On LinkedIn, the responses are direct opposite. Almost everyone agreed that MMM is a scam and only a stupid person would do it. Of course, there are few guys on LinkedIn who share the opinion that it isn’t my problem.
Truth be told, it is really not my problem.
But then, the troublemaker in me wouldn’t just roll over and die. How else can I describe the absurdity of MMM but to do a simulation of the investment with hyper-return?
So, let’s say James, a friend of mine, decides to “invest” N1,000,000 in MMM by January 2017. If he doesn’t touch the money and keeps re-investing capital and interest, this is what he gets by January 1, 2018. A stratospheric 2,230% return!
| Initial Seed | 1,000,000 |
| January | 1,300,000 |
| February | 1,690,000 |
| March | 2,197,000 |
| April | 2,856,100 |
| May | 3,712,930 |
| June | 4,826,809 |
| July | 6,274,852 |
| August | 8,157,307 |
| September | 10,604,499 |
| October | 13,785,849 |
| November | 17,921,604 |
| December | 23,298,085 |
| 2,230% |
My birthday is January, and considering I would be hitting a major milestone in 2018, I should expect a fantastic gift from James, right? Wrong! I can bet that James would be dead-ass broke by then.
Trust me, if such a guarantee return exists, all we need Buhari to do is ask Aunty Kemi, the Minister of Finance, to put in about N100B and he can use the N2.3 trillion Nigeria would get by January 2018 to fix Lagos-Ibadan Express road, fund the outstanding salaries of the APC governors’ states, build 3 more refineries and drop in about N200B for 2018 investment. Come 2019, we will have N4.6B to spend. It’s election year and we will return Buhari with all happiness.
For me, I can put in N10M and just chill for a year; a year’s wait doesn’t kill anyone. With N232M, I can make a foray into real estate and live the rest of my pipe dream life in luxury.
It doesn’t make sense right? Yes, it doesn’t!
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Funny read!
Well, people will always fall for ‘Get Rich Quick’ scheme.
“I don’t run a business but I know that if a staff of mine does MMM, he’s on his way out.”
in as much as you made some sense in the article, your comment above shows how callous or arrogant a fellow you are !
did you not have a choice of investment in all your years of paid employment?
Sorry, but I bet you don’t know ‘deji
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Hi Deji,
Nice write-up. I understand the mindset though. I understand the desperation and the allure of the yield. Looking at your projections up there…it takes fear of losing or strong principles to hold back. I haven’t done this for two reasons: 1) No spare cash to burn…sane investments abound 2) every cent i make is someone else’s money…cant carry that on my conscience…
There are givers and takers:
There’s the one who believes that unless a corn of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it amounts to nothing. This person is ready to risk that seed with hopes of greater returns…with their eyes open. Once there’s some yield, the prudent fortuner takes out the seed and leaves the new fruit to keep multiplying. These are the takers.
The other half i pity. Those believe this is a real bank…or a saint that wishes to make them rich…physche…and will borrow to put in money…all the money…seed and fruit. They get very good at math here and just keep multiplying in their minds and cant help themselves. These are the givers.
Some people have made some real money with this ….so one looks like the devil preaching them another gospel. Someone you know might just build a house with this. How do you explain to them it isn’t real. You no see house??…No need.
I see it as a cycle of wealth re-allocation. Some gain, some lose….losers learn…even gainers learn. We all move on wiser….and for those that dont, Proverbs says you should leave strong drink to those that are ready to perish…let them drink and forget their sorrows…