An Economic Appraisal of Ponzi Schemes and Living Standards in Nigeria: The Case of MMM, Ultimate-Cycler and Crowd-Rising in Calabar Metropolis

Ponzi Schemes as Africa's Twenty-First-Century Shylocks: Complicities in Femi Osofisan's Love's Unlike Lading: A Comedy from Shakespeare and Fires Burn and Die Hard

“…It attracted more than 2.4 million Nigerians until late 2016; it promised to pay 30 percent per month returns, including other accruable bonuses, to all members involved in it (Obamuyi et al 2018). Because these schemes thrive during economic recession, MMM proved popular during the recession that plagued the Nigerian economy during that period (Opue et al 2018). Nigerians, especially the youth, quickly embraced it as an alternative way of becoming wealthy.…”

“…Osofisan ( 2012) is therefore prophetic of the doom many Nigerians are subjected to in Ponzi schemes that began with the Umana-Umana and Planwell schemes (Opue et al 2018) and triumphed in 2015 with the MMM (Aluko and Olawuni 2021). Bassey in Love's is the alter ego of Shylock, who personifies MMM and other Ponzi schemes where the likes of Fowosanu are doomed.…”

“…Oluwasegun Aluko and Ibukun Olawuni (2021), however, contest such a recommendation, noting that Ponzi schemes have no legal framework because they are fraudulent; hence they cannot be identified with the authorities and cannot be sued. An economic appraisal of Ponzi schemes and living standards in Nigeria concludes that the negative effect thereof on the economy outweighs the positive (Opue et al 2018). An assessment of the Madoff saga contends that fraudsters live out a fiction, using other people's money to act out their fantasies (Lewis 2012).…”