Kogi Poly students mark MMM return

Some youths all around the Kogi state capital city of Lokoja on Saturday were at several beer parlours to celebrate the return of the controversial Mavrodi Mondial Movement (MMM).

The Ponzi scheme, banned in Russia where it originated,   froze the accounts of 3 million Nigerian members in December, causing panic and anxiety.

The scam returned yesterday, a day before its initial comeback date of 14th January.

Most of the revellers were students of the state owned polytechnic in Lokoja.

They expressed surprise about the comeback of the pyramid money investment scheme, that promises players 30 per cent return, a day ahead of schedule.

Segun Ademola, a student, said he had invested over N300,000 in his MMM account.

He said he was glad to have the operation bounce back. He has a lot of high hopes, that he would reap his investment.

” I am the happiest person on earth today,God bless Mavrodi,”he said.

Fola Owobo, another student, said she used her school fees to provide help to some other person she did not know at all.

She said she was confused when the scheme was shut down on 13 December 2016.

She was relieved now that the MMM was back in operation.‎

Michael Olubola, another student said he has learnt a lesson. He said as soon as he collects his money, he would ‎never try providing help again.

He said he almost had hypertension in the last four weeks.

He urged his colleagues to shun free money and embrace hardwork.

He said the free money promised by MMM almost caused him his life.

Yet another student, Wunmi Atte, said ‎she was convinced that the MMM was a fraud.

“Sooner or later it would fold up”, she said, as she wondered where the scheme gets the money it promises members

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Nigerian regulators should look critically into bitcoin – it has some merits

Just as some Chinese investors are hedging against the sinking Yuan and restrictions on it with Bitcoin, many Nigerians are thinking of doing so, as well. But the government might not give them a chance.

Bitcoin

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned Nigerians about investing in digital currencies such as Bitcoin. Reason: companies trading in Bitcoin are not recognized by it.

This was not exactly the position of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC) last December. NDIC had announced that a committee had been set up, in conjunction of the Central Bank, to study fast growing digital currencies, especially Bitcoin.

This digital currency deserves more attention in Africa, and not a pedestrian one.

A Kenyan start-up, BitPesa, has started bringing the continent closer to China –the biggest traders in Bitcoin — by letting companies trade with Chinese businesses in Bitcoin. This novel idea has cut transaction costs by 60 percent.

But there are issues around Bitcoin, which need to be looked into. The BBC reported, in December, that the value of Bitcoin climbed from $435 to $900 in 2016. However, this digital currency caught some cold after Chinese regulators sneezed this January. The increasing regulations in China on Bitcoin Exchanges caused the digital currency to drop from $1100 to $760.

And this is a major problem with Bitcoin. It’s price has been very volatile – a rise from $435 to $900 in one year is phenomenal. This explains one of the reasons why some global retailers are still analyzing the prospects of Bitcoin.

Two former US Fed Chairmen have expressed their reservations. Though Ben Bernanke argues that some of the ideas behind Bitcoin – [like the Blockchain technology, I suppose] – was a useful takeaway, he says the ‘unregulated nature’ of the digital currency makes it a vehicle for illegal money transfers.

But it is not all bad news for the digital currency. In a sign that global markets might have overcome their skepticism, Barclays Bank and the UK’s FCA, last year, opened the British market to Circle Internet Financial Ltd, a start-up that allows users send each other payment in Bitcoin. (This company had earlier received a $50 million investment from Goldman Sachs.)

But what do these banks see in Bitcoin?

Bitcoin uses the blockchain technology, which is a public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions – which are stored in electronic wallets called Blocks — and allows everyone connected to the Blockchain network to see transactions. Thus, no one can illegally spend a Bitcoin twice for the same purpose.

Using computer algorithms and rules acceptable to all members of the community, blocks- which are records of all Bitcoin activities over a specified period—can be confirmed and created by miners. And each time blocks are successfully created, Bitcoins are allocated to successful miners.

Even though regulators and global banks are still analyzing Bitcoins, the idea behind it can be applied to many businesses. And Nigeria should take note of this.

For instance, over 50 major banks are thinking of adopting the Blockchain technology. Interestingly, IBM and Microsoft have been working with many companies on how to adopt the Blockchain technology for their businesses.

The Blockchain technology works like a Google document. Using this technology, parties in a contract no longer need to keep separate documents. A Blockchain technology allows parties to look at documents at the same time over a network, make changes and agreements that can be seen by all parties involved, including their lawyers.

It’s important that Nigerian regulators, including the ministry of communications, look into this technology and figure out how it would benefit Nigeria.

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Publish names of those that recieved the money. Fayose challenges Buhari over N5000 payment

Governor Ayodele Fayose has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to publish the names of those who have received the N5000 stipend the federal government claimed it has paid.

The federal government announced that it has started disbursing the N5000 stipend which was promised to poor Nigerians by President Buhari.

One million most vulnerable Nigerians will be rewarded with a N5,000 monthly stipend through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP).

The Tribune reports that, the presidency announced that the government has begun the payment.

Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed that the implementation of the programme was part of the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s determined efforts to touch the lives of Nigerians positively.

The Punch however reports that that Governor Fayose challenged the president to make public names of those who have received as Ekiti people have not received anything yet.

Fayose claimed only All Progressives Congress (APC) states will agree that they have received payment.

“A blind man will say it is when it gets into my mouth that I will say you are feeding me, not promises.”

He said the ruling party “should come to the reality that Nigerians are hungry and also angry and that Nigerians are no longer interested in empty promises.”

Fayose accused the APC of focusing on 2019 rather than making the country better and said the project was a World Bank own with payment made since 2016.

The governor said he was already paying poor people N10000 in Ekiti without delay.

“Federal government’s N5,000 payment to the poor was designed in a way that the state governors are also involved because they are to clear and present prospective beneficiaries before payments are made.”

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