It was one of Banjo's happiest days of his life. The day had just been paid his NYSC allowance. The joy on his face was unexplainable. He held it tight in his hands like a small treasure he had toiled day and night to earn.
That small token of sixty thousand naira was just enough to prove to his poor mother at home that he had finally become a big man. He was so proud of himself. To be able to send little money home for his mother's upkeep was no small joke.
He sat on his small creaky bench outside his little room that his place of work had provided for accommodation. The sun above was beginning to dip behind the tall buildings that sat around his apartment like the mountains over Jerusalem. The air smelled of wet tar and fried plantains from the nearby roadside stall.
Soon he heard Obinna's door open. Obinna was his colleague and neighbor. They were young boys serving their father's land in the same organization.
He turned to see Obinna with a wide smile on his face.
"It's just an allowance. It's no jackpot. There is no need to be that happy." Banjo teased.
"Who cares about NYSC allowance. Guy, I'm happy about this crypto thing. You invest small, you get big. No risk,” Obinna replied, voice thick with excitement as he sat down close to Banjo.
Banjo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. It was clear Obinna was not going to stop anytime soon with his quick schemes to make money. In all the investments he had brought to Banjo's way, none had ever worked out.
"Shebi, all these your Ponzi schemes that don't pay? You've come again.".
"Guy, trust me this one is legit. See, I've already cashed out my returns." Obinna showed him proof of withdrawal from his investment in the crypto scheme. He had invested a small amount and made almost one hundred percent in returns.
Banjo's eyes widened. "Looks legit."
"Of course, it is legit."
Banjo let his mind drift to his allowance. He thought of how he would double it if he invested it in Obinna's crypto scheme. But then again he hadn't been lucky with schemes like this. "I would have invested. Maybe with my allowance but I'm scared. Besides, I need to send some to my mother." He shook his head.
Obinna got up and made for his room. "You fear a lot, guy. What could possibly go wrong?"
"Everything guy. This is a Ponzi." Banjo fired back at Obinna.
Obinna looked over his shoulder to Banjo. "Ponzi? But I just made money from it." He paused and turned. "Look at it this way. If you send half to your mum at home, how much is left for you to manage for the month? Invest just half and double it, so that even if you send half of that allowance to your mother, you'll still have something to survive on. I'm just trying to help." He yurt and continued his walk to his room. He was almost at the door when Banjo asked.
“How much do you want me to put in?”
“Just twenty thousand, bro. Half your money.” Obinna grinned.
Banjo's mind raced. His mother's voice echoed in my head from our last call. But his heart was beginning to say otherwise. He pictured his mother's tired hands peeling Akara early every morning to pay my school fees. His little sister struggling to finish her homework with a kerosene lamp.
“What could possibly go wrong?” He said to Obinna.
"Nothing. It's legit." He quickly sat down beside Banjo.
"How does it work?" Banjo asked. In less than three minutes he sent the money through the app Obinna had shown him. Then he relaxed and waited for his miracle money which was to drop in the next 24 hours.
By the next day, Banjo danced so hard in church. He had expectations of double income coming his way at the end of church service. He had already told his mother how he was going to send her money by that afternoon. His mother had prayed hard and blessed him with happiness.
He was proud of himself. Finally, he was becoming useful. His uncle wouldn't call his education a waste of funds anymore.
But by the twenty-fourth hour, he waited by the phone like a child at Christmas waiting for Christmas chicken. But the app vanished. There was no way to log in, no help, not even his calls to Obinna went through.
Later that evening, after hours of waiting while scrolling through social media. He read news of a Ponzi scheme that just crashed. It happened to be the same scheme Obinna had introduced him to. He tried Obinna's phone again, which was replied to with a message from Obinna about how he had traveled home to see his people that morning.
Banjo fell to the floor. He couldn't believe it. With all the promises he had made to his mother. All the prayers she had prayed for him. He felt so stupid and ashamed of himself.
To save his face. He sent the remaining half allowance to his mother. That meant he was going to survive the month by borrowing cash just so he could eat.
He swore in his life again never to invest in a Ponzi scheme again. Especially the ones from Obinna.
[Image by](Victor UzihBen from Pixabay)
