I sat with John in my living room going through the business proposal page by page.
"The Return On Investment, ROI, of this investment is great," I said while my eyes were fixated on the pages.
John was introduced to me by a mutual friend. He was into agribusiness, an area that I equally have an interest in.
A company was newly floated that deals in food storage and processing. John came across the mouthwatering investment opportunity and he related it to me.
"I have been looking for an opportunity like this," I had told him in our previous meeting in a hotel.
He gave me the flyers and I read the summary of what the company does and the opportunity that is available for investors to explore. I glanced through the flyers and saw an ROI of 40% in six months.
"Can this ROI be real?" I asked John. "How realistic is this level of profit in this economy?"
John looked at me for a few seconds before letting out a loud laugh.
"It seems that you don't have in-depth knowledge of the opportunities in agriculture. Agriculture is a gold mine. It's rare to run into losses in that sector. The harsh economy can prevent you from buying clothes and jewelry. The economy can stop you from buying your dream car or visiting places you admire. Can the economy make you suspend eating?" He asked me.
"Not all," I shook my head in response. "Everyone must eat to survive irrespective of the state of the economy."
"That's why any company that deals with agricultural products remains an investment destination for smart investors like you and me."
This short conversation was all that was required by me to accept the investment wholeheartedly.
"This is a great opportunity. If it requires me to take a loan to finance this investment, I will do that," I declared. "As indicated in the flier, we can get the details of the investment information from the company headquarters. Please can you get it for us to go through as soon as possible?"
"I will visit the company to get it by tomorrow," John promised.
Our next meeting will be in my house, I concluded.
He got the details of the investment and here we are going through the document page by page. The cost of a unit was 50000 Naira according to the document.
"How many investment units will you be able to purchase? 100?" John asked.
"Where will I get that kind of money?" I smiled.
I spent a few minutes doing some calculations offhand. I had a balance of 400,000 Naira in my bank account. I thought of taking a loan of 1.6 million Naira to make the money 2 million Naira. With the 2 million Naira, I would be able to buy 40 units of the investment.
"I will buy 40 units," I told John after a few minutes of silence.
John also concluded to buy 60 units which were to be financed largely by loans.
Throughout our discussion, Jack was the third creature with us in the living room. He was calmly seated on a chair in front of us with his attention on us as we discussed.
Jack was my best friend. Our relationship was beyond that of a dog and its master. We were friends who supported each other in many ways.
Immediately we ended the discussion and I escorted John out of the house, Jack ran to me on my return wagging his tail. At one point, he started barking.
"Are you hungry, Jack?" I asked him.
Normally, if he was hungry, he would jump over me in response. The interpretation would be a yes. Jacked barked more instead.
"What's the problem, Jack?"
"All that glitters is not gold. Don't go further in your plans," Jack cautioned me.
I was dumbfounded. The communication between Jack and I had never been mutually verbal. While I talk to him in words, he responds in action.
"What spirit has possessed Jack?" I asked myself.
I gave Jack food and let the issue slide.
Throughout the day, Jack was reading my mind. Anytime I thought of the investment, he would repeat the same statement of caution.
The following morning, which was the day I was supposed to go and apply for a loan in the bank, I picked up my phone and called John.
"My dog is advising me not to continue with this investment. I waved it initially but he was relentless in cautioning me."
"What do you mean by your dog cautioning you? How did he do that?" John asked with a surprised tone on the phone. "This is not something to be discussed on the phone, I will join you soon."
In another few minutes, John arrived at my home. He came to confirm the talking dog.
Upon his arrival, I called Jack and asked him a question.
"John has come so that we can proceed to the bank to apply for loans for the investment. What's your take?"
"All that glitters is not gold. Don't go further in your plans," Jack repeated his statement.
"Can you hear him?" I asked John.
"Hear what? Nobody is talking apart from you."
I asked Jack the question again and he responded as usual. John couldn't hear him. It became obvious to me that Jack was talking to me alone.
"If you are not interested in the investment anymore, you should tell me instead of playing gimmicks on me with your dog."
"Well, it's unfortunate that you couldn't hear Jack. I am not playing gimmicks on you."
I heeded the caution of Jack and opted out of the investment. John went ahead to buy the 50 units that he planned.
In the fifth month of the investment, the company declared a major loss. According to a statement from the company, there was an attack on their storage facilities and the stored produce was destroyed. The whole investment community became agitated. Each investor was in panic mode regarding the fate of his investment.
A few weeks later, it became public knowledge that the company was operating a Ponzi scheme. John couldn't recover his money. He started the journey of paying the loan that took from the bank for the next two years.
"I now believe you and your dog. How did you train your dog to be able to detect a financial danger coming your way?"
"I am as surprised as you are. I only summoned the courage to believe the strange words of my dog which you didn't." I responded to him.
"Going forward, I will be sending you to consult your dog for me before embarking on any investment," John stated.
