It was two years ago. 2021. It was my break time at my then job and I was scrolling mindlessly, navigating platforms.
I got online on Facebook and stumbled on this account. A personal one which also served the purpose of business. It was captivating and I caught myself scrolling through. It was a business post. Very catchy one.
I read through the post that had caught my eye and it interested me so much. Instinctively, I clicked on the comment section to see what it was like there.
It was filled with sweet words and heartwarming comments. And it was there that I realized that many/alot of the creatives and influencers I like we're pals to the businesswoman. They spoke well of her and her business. They were all partners(investors in it).
Captivating as it was, I had to give it a follow.
The lady dealt on agricultural product storage and she gave room for investments and a mouthwatering ROI, should one invest.
I could not pass it on so I got a pillow and slept on that page(lol). For days, I tried to do my findings. Eventually I found there was a minimum amount to be invested and the amount put me off. Was no big more but it was many times the salary I was making. I could rally around for it tho.
I decided to chill for a bit and just save up till I could afford it. February last year, my money was all complete. The business was still in flourish with admirable growth and testimonies flying.
I was ready.
But me, I don't make money decisions strictly on my own.
I called my sister and told her "Do you know about xyzxyz. Please, check it out for me. Tell me what you think"
"I know about it. Why? You wan invest?," she asked.
*I've been meaning to. What do you think?" I asked.
Her reply was, "OJ, frankly, I don't trust that business. It looks all nice with all the picture and video evidence and weight behind the lady but something about it doesn't sit well with me, recently."
Now, that girl might be my younger one but so far, she's proven to have good financial ideas plus she's very observant.
That was good but not good enough for me. The ROI was just too attracting. There's no way the business owner could make away with people's money, especially having the assets she does and the calibre of people who invested.
Lol. The audacity to think that.
For days, I fought within myself; to invest or not to invest. I gave myself a few days more to ponder on it. I finally drew a conclusion to just get done with it. Besides, it's not a long term thing. Just about 3 months max. What could go wrong?
But then, the day before the supposed date for the last batch -for the amount I had- to invest, I woke up and felt very uneasy. Had this pressing foreboding to not go along with the business(I can be impulsive sometimes. One minute, someone can be telling me to not do a thing and the next minute, I'm convinced I need to). That day, when my instinct spoke, I listened.
First week of April that same year, problem broke. Someone called out the lady and her business and like that, receipts of misgivings in business were flying up-and-down. It was chaotic then. Facebook caught fire. Who would have thought??
You needed to hear the figures people invested. Amounts running into hundreds of millions. People have money in this country. I could not imagine losing all I had(which was change compared to what others had put in) to that fraudulent scheme.
I learnt a lesson. Thankfully, not the hard way. It was just about two months after I almost invested that all those happened.
Till date, I never disregard my intuition. It could never lie.
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