The love and peace that once reigned in the
family of Osakpamwan Amieomwanghi is at the moment under threat. And the cause
of the crisis in his family is the huge investment that the father and his two
sons risked on the Ponzi scheme – Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM).
The head of the family, Mr. Amieomwanghi, who
lives at Evbuotubu community in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, had on
the second week of November 2016, pledged N2 million on the platform. And on
November 28, he had paid the money to six different accounts as directed by the
operators of the scheme.
He told Daily Sun that he had heard about the
online scheme two months before then but he blatantly kicked against it and
called it a modern wonder bank. He said he later changed his mind when his
close friend, who invested N4 million on the scheme received a profit of N1.4
million within a month.
His friend’s financial success, it was
gathered, spontaneously lured the 59-year-old man to stake his money on the
scheme. He told the reporter that he wanted some fast cash to expand his
provisions business and to also make the 2016 Christmas celebration a very
memorable one for him and his family.
The troubled man, until he embraced the online
gambling, was dealing in wholesales provision business in a popular market in
Benin City. He was said to be a successful businessman, one envied by his
colleagues in the market.
Regrettably, the tide has changed after he
ventured into the Ponzi scheme, as he now hardly opens his shop due to his
inability to order goods from his suppliers. He told the reporter that he had
become a laughing stock in the midst of his colleagues, especially those who
knew about his MMM predicament.
Apart from his own money that was invested, it
was learnt that Mr. Amieomwanghi, also persuaded his two sons to invest in the
scheme. The two children bought into the idea sold by their father and risked
N1 million each. Thus the entire investment of the Amieomwanghis in the scheme
was N4 million.
The sons’ investment is actually the cause of
the family crisis.
Less than two weeks after making the payment,
the bubble burst. There came the devastating news, suspending payment even for
people that were due to be paid. Initially, it was gathered that the home of
the Amieomwanghis was turned into a theatre of war, as the two sons lambasted
their father for leading them astray.
Amieomwanghi said: “Three of the account owners
that I paid to were calling me, as if the scheme was about to crash. I was
running around because the system gave me 48 hours to make all the payments. At
a particular point, l wanted to pull out and let them block me from
participating in the scheme, but l didn’t listen to myself. I was carried away
with the N700, 000 gain that l was supposed to have made within one month.
“It is painful because that was virtually all
the money – capital and profit – that l had. Watching it going down the drain
has been giving me sleepless nights. I have become a prayer warrior for the
scheme not to crash, as many had forecast. Waiting for January 14 was like
waiting forever. I can’t remember how many nights I couldn’t sleep because of
the money. I am not a gambler and l hate gambling, but l can’t explain how l
fell into this.
“l wanted to risk it only once and stop. I am
praying that it bounces back, and once l get my money, l am off. I am begging
my children to forgive me and to understand that my intention was to make them
financially better. If I had suspected that the operators would suspend
people’s accounts that soon, l wouldn’t have put one naira into it let alone
asking my children to do same.”
Investigation revealed that it was the
persistent intervention of his wife, Mrs. Amienomwanghi, that was able to calm
their two children.
Up till this moment, the woman said she was
still praying and hoping that MMM should return so that her 32-year-old
marriage might not also crash. She told the reporter that her two sons had
relaxed with the belief that the scheme would soon bounce back, as the
operators promised all participants.
She blamed her husband and her sons for not
confiding in her before staking their money in the Ponzi scheme. She said she
was only told after they had paid out the money they pledged.
“My home is in trouble at the moment. If the
online scheme fails to return, as it promised it is only God that can save me.
My sons had never been rude to their father until MMM came into our home. For
over a week, the boys were not in good terms with their father. They were so bitter
and every member of the family saw it. Four million naira in this recession is
not a joke. Since December, feeding has been a problem for us.
“One of my husband’s friends told me that my
husband said he might simply run away to the village if MMM finally crashes.
That is why I am so afraid and confused about the whole thing.
My home has been so peaceful but that is now
history. MMM has turned my children against their father.”
All disciples of MMM have been thrown into
panic and confusion, as the scheme’s administrators, on December 13, announced
the decision to freeze all confirmed participants’ money due for withdrawal for
one month.
In essence, all members’ accounts due to be
paid after having ‘provided help’ to another person since the last month were
suspended. Since then, they had no access to request for payment till January
14, 2017. The reasons given for the sudden decision is that the scheme was
experiencing heavy workload and also needed to calm the frenzy which had arisen
from constant criticisms from the public and media.
Many observers, however, believe the new
development is an indication that MMM is on course to crash, as many had
previously warned.
An observer wrote: “Using South Africa as a
case study, their site crashed and all accounts frozen. That marked the end of
the road. This might be the end of MMM in Nigeria too.”
Talks about the popularity of the famous
money-doubling scheme among Nigerians often sparks a social media fight,
heating up the debate over the subject. Participants in the scheme as well as
antagonists are often locked in a war of words. Interestingly, the debates
often see Nigerians, speaking about MMM from the intellectual, mundane and even
ignorant point of views.
Many have traced the overwhelming acceptance of
the the Ponzi, as a reflection of the hardship in Nigeria, whereby participants
saw it as a quick escape from the current economic crisis, plaguing the
country.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had warned Nigerians not to participate in MMM
before the scheme announced the suspension. But even now, many Nigerians remain
optimistic that the scheme would soon bounce back and those that had paid in
money would get their money back.
However, it seems the participants will have to
wait some more. January 14 has since come and gone and though MMM has lifted
the suspension, there is still no sign that it would resume payments.
DAILYSUN
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