OVAIOSA AND THE PONZI PROBLEM

The internet is awash with the news of several scammers who took money from extensive number of investors and who are either at large or have been apprehended. The most recent is a lady called Ovaiosa. From the information I have gleaned, her main product was FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN & STORAGE from which she has received monies in BILLIONS with which she has acquired A LOT of Real Estate and International investments including CITIZENSHIP of an undisclosed country. Source: https://www.legit.ng/business-economy/technology/1466487-ovaioza-allegedly-bought-400k-house-us-bought-n600m-plaza-was-processing-1m-investment-visa/

The only thing I will say is: VISIONARY PEOPLE MUST DEVELOP STRONG DISCIPLINE.

In 2011, immediately I resigned from ValuCard (now Unified Payment Systems Ltd), I encouraged my former colleagues to ‘invest’ in my new business called BARNABAS HOUSE. It had just been registered that January of 2011. None of them did except my immediate subordinate (I won’t mention his name here). He gave me N100,000.00. That was N134 Naira per Dollar as at that time. So it means he gave me around $750. I was elated. I left my job July 1st 2011 into full time self employment.

The agreement was 12 months payback with interest. I did not meet up. In fact, by 2012 up until 2014, I was so broke I contemplated going back to the job I left. I struggled to pay back this money. I paid him in bits and pieces.

Then in 2017, when my business, now SOBCA, had taken some shape, we raised $50,000 to build our one-stop portal for EQ in 4 languages: English, Portuguese, Arabic & French. System fully done and launched in an elaborate ceremony but before it took off, it crashed. That project failed. We were in debt of over N6.5 Million. It took around 2-3 years to pay off. We cleared that debt early 2020.

Between 2020 and end of 2021, some friends voluntarily offered to invest in SOBCA. They felt SOBCA is performing so well and they wanted a piece of the pie. We obliged. We got some good injection of cash that came handy. BUT THE SPIRIT OF GREED SHOWED UP. I remember vividly, sitting with a potential investor in my office who wanted to give us N5,000,000.00 (5 Million Naira). I declined. I remember saying “our capacity to take more money has been exhausted. Unless you’re willing to wait and receive your ROI after 3-5 years.” This decision took A LOT of discipline to take. Because in my head, voices were saying “but it’s you na. You’re the Money Spinner. You can take it. Use it for personal stuff and hustle to pay back. Etc.”

THE VOICES WILL COME. AND THE CRAVINGS WILL COME. I could take the monies, buy real estate, or fleets of cars or anything that caught my fancy… BUT MY STAMINA TO BE IN THAT LEVEL OF NON-PERFORMING DEBT WAS ABSENT.

It is easy to judge a business owner when their decisions go wrong. It is very easy for people who have built nothing to call visionary people names and curse their labour. While I do not know nor support the extent of damage Ovaiosa has done, I know that this is a business decision gone bad. Inside her head, the voice told her ‘you can deliver. You will pay them back. Go ahead.’

If you meet an Entrepreneur in Nigeria today, please say a prayer for them. IT IS NOW A MIRACLE TO MAINTAIN A THRIVING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA. It is not audio hustle. It is a real war.

I hope investors are able to get their monies back. I pray so. And I hope entrepreneurs learn to cut their appetite for unhealthy-more. Cut your cloth according to your material. If you cannot afford the risk, say no. Learn to say no.

These are some of the benefits of being a BSG Member. We discuss BUSINESS IS WAR. Are you in BSG?

m a k t u b!!!

The Octopus.