NOSPETCO: A Classic Ponzi Scheme

I have always wanted to write about a classic Ponzi scheme that is making raves in Nigeria of recent but never got around to it until this afternoon when I read about what a like minded person wrote about it.

This is the short take: There is a company in Nigeria, Nospetco, who takes a minimum deposit of N450,000 (about $3,516) for a minimum of 6 months and gives you a flat interest of roughly 8.8% every month. Isn’t that interesting?

Yeah, it is interesting if you are a blind fool. What kind of investment will give that kind of return? At that rate, the investment yields to you 106% per annum. Well, there are investments like that but for the company to give you that kind of interest, they are getting something much more. And if that line of business is that good (heard they are into oil and gas or something weird like that) why wouldn’t they take a loan from a bank for say 22% pa?

There is an old adage that says nothing is new under the sun. Ponzi scheme, also called pyramid scheme are as old as my great grandfather’s grandfather (assuming that Darwin is wrong and I ain’t descendant of some black monkey. Duh!).

According to Wikipedia,

“A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns (“profits”) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business.”

Now, I can bet my a**e that 106% is way beyond what any business can legitimately pay investors in Nigeria. This is different for stock where the appreciation in value is dependent on demand and supply and the general believe of inherent value. Even when a stock goes too high then you know a burst is just a mile around the corner.

I also remember an old CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) advert that use to say “when it is too good to be true, then it is not true”. I have seen people tell me (even some of my learned colleagues) that Nospetco has been around for 2 years plus. But some of the most notorious schemes even operated for over 5 years before the authorities came around to shut them down.

The truth is I might be wrong about this. But I would rather discover that I should have put my money there than discover that I shouldn’t have gone around their end.

For more about Ponzi schemes and the man it was named after, head on to Wikipedia.

What else can I ask for?

Sincerely, what else can one ask for except for a good wife? Unless you are related to the Dalai Lama, you have got to get married one of these days. For me, I have always seen marriage as an inevitable life sentence in which a jail break is not favorably viewed. So back in the wild wild days, my plan was if I couldn’t dodge going to jail, I could at least postpone the evil day. Until I met my wife. Then my game plan changed. I knew if I lost her, I wouldn’t meet anyone like her again. Moral of the story, I married the best woman in the world.

Tongue in cheek: I know a lot of good wife materials but I haven’t even seen a better wife material.

What manner of legacy

When Obasanjo was sworn-in in May 1999 he promised to uphold the constitution. Of course, those of us who have been in this country since the last 7 years know he has done everything apart from standing strong for the laws he promised to defend.While he has disobeyed almost every court order which is bad enough. What is most rankling to me has been his tacit support for the flagrant abuse of constitution by the different state houses of assembly. We all know most of those Govs were hiding behind one-finger-immunity but like the law states, it is better to let a criminal go free than punish an innocent person needlessly. It would have been far better for Baba Iyabo to stand and defend the constitution than let this demonically motivated assembly men destroy this country.

It all started with Alamieyeseigha where 15 members, instead of 16, were able to carry out an impeachment. As if that wasnt bad enough, the President supported the Ibadan warlords to remove Ladoja and he was so quick to recognize the impostor general, Alao-Akala as the new Gov.

Now, what is my gripe? I know am pretty angry with the direction in which Baba Iyabo is taking but you know the truth, I really pity him. I pity him because after all these gra gra, after hes left the government and hes rubbished his legacy, he would try so hard to explain his part. He would desire so strongly that he be seen as an elder state man. And it would be too late. At that time, money would not buy the respect he would covert. His so called loyalist would abandon him. You never know, Ribadu might even come back to investigate him. Nigeria is a country of many wonders!

Look at Babangida. He desperately wants to come back, not because of anything but because he wants to be seen as a good person. No one reckons with him. No one cares about him (apart from few ass lickers). Hes trying all his best to be relevant but to no avail. Have you guys forgotten about Jakande and Ebenezer Babatope? Kingibe just came out of hibernation to contest for presidency but if your guess is as good as mine, he aint going nowhere. Same thing will happen to Bayo Ojo. I dont know why the NBA hasnt sacked that man. Hes a disgrace to the law profession.

My prayer is that we will overcome. We overcame Babangida. We overcame Abacha. We shall overcome Baba Iyabo.

Make your vote count

The voters’ registration exercise has been on for a while now. Even though the project has been fraught with a lot of Nigerian factor, there have been strong clamors from different angles for all of us to register. At least, if we don’t vote, we can’t get the right people in.

My pastor topped it up in church yesterday that not only should we vote good people in, we should also vote bad people out. And the list of bad people is so long you will need a taxi to get to the end of it.  For more information, visit www.projectvotenigeria.org

One more crash too many…

We were all rudely jolted by news of another ADC airplane crash in Nigeria today. Damn, how many times will these metal birds fall of the sky before someone starts to do something? It is pretty unfortunate how human lives are just wantonly wasted because some dude is inept and corrupt.

Even though it seems every other flight is crashing in Nigeria, the recent spate of air crashes has gone up pretty much same way in other parts of the world. But what I have seen is that, most, if not all these airlines are budget airlines; not anyone of the majors has suffered a catastrophic crash. The nearest is that of Air France in Canada last August but they got every passenger and crew out under 90 seconds flat.

Could it be that the intense competition in air travels (think of EasyJet, JetBlue, RyanAir) have made everyone cut cost so much that some people cut their corners too close? Could it be that the increase in number of aircrafts in the sky is overwhelming national airspaces? Could it be that pilots are now poorly trained and unmotivated? Or may be the end of time is just hours away?

Some of the deadliest plane crashes in the past two years:

  • Oct. 29, 2006: A Nigerian ADC Airlines plane carrying 104 people crashed shortly after taking off during a storm in Abuja. Six people survived, but the others were feared dead.
  • Sept. 29, 2006: A Gol Airlines flight crashed in the Brazilian jungle after clipping a private jet, killing all 154 people aboard.
  • Aug. 22, 2006: A Russian Pulkovo Airlines jetliner returning from the Black Sea resort of Anapa crashed in Ukraine during a thunderstorm, killing all 170 people on board.
  • July 9, 2006: A Russian S7 airliner crashed while landing on a wet runway in the Siberian city of Irkutsk and burst into flames, killing 124 people.
  • May 3, 2006: An Armenian Armavia airliner crashed in the Black Sea while trying to land in the Russian resort city of Sochi in rough weather, killing all 113 people aboard.
  • Dec. 6, 2005: A C-130 military transport carrying Iranian journalists crashed into a building in a Tehran suburb as the pilot attempted an emergency landing, killing 115 people – 94 in the plane and 21 on the ground.
  • Dec. 10, 2005: A Nigerian Sosoliso Airlines jet crashed in Port Harcourt, killing 107 people, most of them schoolchildren.
  • Oct. 22, 2005: A Nigerian Bellview Airlines jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Lagos, killing all 117 people aboard.
  • Sept. 5, 2005: An Indonesian Mandala Airlines jetliner crashed into a crowded neighborhood moments after takeoff, killing 143 people – 99 on the plane and 44 on the ground.
  • Aug. 16, 2005: A West Caribbean Airways charter jet crashed in Venezuela, killing 160 people, most of them tourists from Martinique.
  • Aug. 14, 2005: A Helios Airways flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens crashed into a hillside outside Athens, killing 121 people.
  • Feb. 3, 2005: An Afghan Kam Air plane crashed in the mountains in bad weather, killing 104 people.