MONEY LESSON FROM MMM

Last 3 years, during the MMM and Ponzi scheme national frenzy. I was an
anti MMM crusader. In my mind that thing was just pure wayo. People were
just ‘chopping’ money front, left and center, I just kept my face straight and
told them “that thing will soon crash”.

When I came back that semester to school, everybody in the class was the
oga and madam of one Ponzi or the other. The thing was enticing. I
refused to be tempted. Later, A coursemate told me about the one they call
Ultimate cycler. He showed me proof of his earnings. I changed my mind
and earlier notions about it.
I went to the saloon at the end of the day and another girl was excitedly
talking about how she has already received 50k. my head started
turnioniown.

A voice whispered to me “Chinwe baby” I answered “speak for I am
listening. The voice said again “Matty baby, cast your bread upon the
waters, for you shall receive it after many days”. I didn’t know that was the
voice of an evil spirit from Russia.

I had my school fees resting in my acoount. I decided to take the risk. I lent
#12,500 to a friend, and charged her interest when she will receive her pay
and used the remaining #12,500. I was already calculating how much I was
going to make and how good that semester will be for me. In the next two
days, they said the thing crashed.

‘Yeh, mogbe… crash ke. Is it plane or stock market ni?’ They said its not
crash, that its just for freezing and upgrading. “haa, daddy freeze ko,
freezer ni. My money should come out first before that kind story”
I was confused and shocked.

2 weeks later, Kobo, I have not seen. Shilling nko, afurom. I started praying
“O Lord, save your daughter, even if its just #12,500, I don’t want 50k
again”.

Money didn’t come, my school fees was gone.
I couldn’t tell my parents or my Uncle who had sent me the fees for that
year. I thought about raising the money on my own.
I had always known I could write, but I didn’t know how to monetize it. I
went online and searched for sites that paid people to write. I was paid#700
naira for my first job. That was just the starting point into being a
professional writer. I still looked out for more.
I sold pure water in my room, I did home lessons for school kids, and I
saved every penny I could get.
Here’s what I learnt from that episode.
 Bad situations do not always happen to crush you, sometimes they
come to bring out the best in you. It may look helpless at first but
there will always be a different angle to every situation. Look beyond
the pain and hurt, focus on the lessons it taught you.

 Pain always reveals purpose: I didn’t know how much I could do with
my words till that episode happened. The incident made me search
for ways I could use the gift I have. Someone who sings might have
gotten into a situation where the only thing that helped him out of a
situation was music. So he ventures into it so he can help others get
out of bad situations.
Pain either comes to make or break us. Even if it does break us, there is
always a greater purpose for it.
It may be to strengthen you for the future or to simply inspire you to look
inwards to unearth the treasures buried within you, just like it happened to
me.
Have it at the back of your mind, that every situation has an underlying
purpose. Look beyond the depressing pain, rise above it and help someone
else too.

written by Chikere Chinwendu Maltida

A writer,storyteller and content creator

Social media handle IG @chikerematilda