As
apprehension over the fate of millions of participants in the MMM
mounts in Nigeria after accounts were frozen, information emerged that
some individuals might have become far richer than anyone can expect.
As apprehension over the fate of millions of participants in the
Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox or MMM mounts in Nigeria after accounts were
frozen, information emerged that some individuals might have become far
richer than anyone can expect.
Some, it was learnt, have been made millionaires by the platform,
but in the case of few others like one of MMM’s top men, Chuddy Ugorji,
the gain may have run into billions.
Ugorji, who is the number one guider on the platform, has been the
subject of different speculations, some of which claimed he might have
made more than N1bn over the last one year.
Social media pictures of him on luxury boat rides or at luxury spots might have a lot to do with his new found wealth.
On the MMM website, Ugorji shared his testimonies showing that he got millions of naira from people who had “provided help” to him.
A screenshot even showed that Ugorji got up to N6m at a point.
There is no doubt that since becoming MMM’s top man, life has not
been the same for the Imo State indigene, who describes himself as an
online entrepreneur and businessman on his Facebook account.
Recently, photographs from his recent wedding, which took place at
the Elshadai Covenant Church, Abule-Egba, Lagos, emerged online, given
the first peek at the life of an individual, who leaves one in no doubt
that the platform has been wonderful to him.
Ugorji’s wedding was attended by celebrities and other guiders of
MMM. The apparently lavish wedding was MMM-themed with guests wearing
MMM-crested sashes, while even the couple’s cake bore the MMM logo. To
cap the royalty of the wedding, entertainment at the reception was
provided by the Limpopo crooner, KCee.
Ugorji, a son of a reverend, is a graduate of one of India’s
distant learning universities, Karnataka State Open University, where he
studied Business Administration.
It is not just the high-level position of Ugorji in MMM that came
to light over the last one week, there are claims that he might have
made over N1bn in the last one year from MMM. But he said that “(I) am not the administrator of MMM but one of the top guiders of this great community.”
As if to address the issue of how much he had made from the platform, he later states, “every guider in the MMM community has a limit to withdrawal and I have never made withdrawals above my limit.”
However, he maintained that the freeze on Mavro (MMM version of
credits), was just a measure to prevent the actual collapse feared by
participants.
But it is unclear whether his statement has done much to restore
confidence of Nigerians in the platform. Some say all the participants
need to learn as lesson is to look at how the scheme fared in other
countries.
An audio message circulated by one of the ‘guiders’ in the scheme
known as Alpha Romeo, indicates that at least three million Nigerians
are participating in the scheme, a fact that puts in focus how massive
the impact of an eventual collapse would be to Nigerians.
Almost every social media space in Nigeria currently hosts
arguments for and against MMM. Many genuinely believe that the freezing
of accounts was a step in the right direction considering the massive
cashing out (or ‘GHing’ in MMM-Speak) for the festive period, which
might collapse the system.
But others have said the January reopening would not happen
considering what happened in other countries such as South Africa and
Zimbabwe, where the scheme has collapsed.
A South African, ThendoStivo, who shared his views on Facebook,
said those expecting that the freeze on Mavros (MMM credits) would be
lifted in January should probably not hold their breath.
‘’You should have learned from your brothers and sisters here
in South Africa. Our old Mavro money is gone as we speak and MMM is at
silence as we speak (sic) so watch out for this Ponzi scheme, I have
also learned my lesson here in South Africa. But at least it is not too
much money that I lost,” he posted on Facebook.
When MMM collapsed in South Africa, the administrators also blamed
it on the panic orchestrated by untrusting media in the country. In
fact, they accused the media of “persecuting” the platform.
Credits: Punch