By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi
More than a week after the Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM) ponzi scheme was suspended for one month, till January 13, 2017, Nigerians are still hopeful of its return.
The scheme has resurfaced in Kenya, East Africa and neighbouring Ghana, according to the Nerws Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Hours after its activities in Nigeria, wife of Chuddy Ugorji, a leading MMM Nigeria promoter, Chiamaka, wrote an open letter to subscribers and assured that their investments were safe.
She also assured that the January 13 return date was sacrosanct.
A housewife, Ebube Okoh, who spoke in Abuja is still optimistic about MMM’s return to Nigeria, adding that the launch of the scheme in Ghana and Kenya has everything to do with the Nigerian chapter.
“According to the website, the ban on withdrawals is due to negative reports by the media, heavy workload experiences by the system, and an attempt to prevent problems during the New Year.
“I, however, believe they have run out of people to get money from to pay back the large investments that were coming into the system.
“I believe the money obtained in Kenya and Ghana will be used to make up for the deficit in Nigeria. Besides, both countries have higher currency values when compared to the Nigeria. The launch in Ghana and Kenya cannot be coincidence.”
A civil servant, Charity Okafor narrated her lucky escape after an initial investment of N500, 000.
“I participated in the scheme twice by investing N500,000 and N1 million, respectively, and I got my money back with a large interest. However, I felt I should not participate in the scheme any longer, and I was lucky I had people around me who convinced me not to reinvest.
An engineer, Gregory Bello insisted that, “I have money in the programme, but, I am not as upset as other participants because it is a small amount of money. The money I put in is the interest I got from my last investment. I am one of those hoping the system comes back in January for the sake of our sanity.
I have friends who put in millions of naira and have either suddenly fallen ill or are showing signs of depression.
“I just pray that MMM Nigeria has not crashed because many people will commit suicide or turn crazy.”