Joy, Anger As MMM Founder, Mavrodi, Dies

Nigerians yesterday took to social media to express their feelings over the death of MMM founder, Sergei Mavrodi. The Russian businessman, whose pyramid scheme made many Nigerians to lose millions of naira, with many dying of heart attacks, others being rushed to hospitals, was alleged to have died of cardiac arrest.

Russian media, which broke the news, noted that Mavrodi, 62, was rushed to the hospital on March 25 after he had a heart attack, where he later died. Between 2011 and 2016, Mavrodi launched the Ponzi scheme under the MMM brand in India, China, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

The scheme collapsed in Nigeria and rendered many Nigerians’ bankrupt. Reacting to the news, Ada D. Dike said: “Rest in peace ke? Do you know how many people Sergei Mavrodi’s Ponzi scheme, MMM, rendered homeless, caused madness and sent to grave in Nigeria? He should not introduce that kind of business to mankind in his next life, if there is reincarnation.” Anierobi Arinze Adibua noted: “I said it.

The moment my friend from Auchi, Edo State lost N4 million, I knew this man won’t last long. He had travelled seven times to the village, who knows what he might have been up to.” Godfrey Ndubuike said: “He did not steal any money. Can you provide proof that you paid to his bank account?

The system he created crashed because outflow was higher than inflow. You were told to use your spare cash, but you used your savings, school fees, house rent etc. Your greed powered by ignorance led to your loss.” Another Facebook user, Unity Unity, stated: “The only scam that shake full Nigeria is (MMM).

It scams farmers, teachers, bankers, doctors, lawyers, girls, craze and even Yahoo boys, fall victims. No body wise for inside.” Ehis Coolex said: “Because he knows that the World Cup is  very close so he wants to fake his death; YOU LIE. If you like vanish, we must search for you and collect our money and if this story is true, we are coming over to Russia with our entire community to eat and drink at your funeral at least the lost won’t be that much again.”

Olugbenga Williams said: “He doesn’t know no one can dupe Babalawo and go scot-free. Maybe he thought Ogun and Amadioha are jokes. RIP man.” Akilu Kinging opined: “They don’t ‘eat’ Nigerians money and go free my brother, you for ask our politicians.

They will tell you how they ended; weather in hospital in Germany, Indian, Egypt, London or USA. Our mouth no good. Arrange my N80k keep before I come abeg.” Suleiman Muritala said: “We should learn from this: No matter how wise you’re, you can’t add to your time on earth! No matter how godly you are, you shall leave as others.

No matter how foolish you are, duping, killing, kidnapping, using the name of religion to do evil, you shall meet Almighty one day.”

Gloria Onuh Chaii noted: “This man has been duping other countries for years; nothing happened to him, but the moment he landed in Naija, defrauded Naija people including me, the Bo-Bo drop down and die. Naija I hail o.”

Clement Moses said: “We, the members of Progressive MMM Association (PMA) condole with your family members over your shocking death and early departure to eternity. Due to your shocking departure, I’m pleased to inform you that PMA Nigerian branch has concluded that; its members you are owing will collect their money in the spirit when they join you, you should refund the once over there with 50 interest due to your contribution to their early grave. Thanks.

Coordinator Nigeria.” Emeka Ezemmuo said: “They should bring his corpse to Nigeria for serious flogging and after Fulani herdsmen will butcher him before they bury him. I wonder if he will rest in peace since he did allow many people to live in peace.”

George Ogbeyi said: “I just hope he doesn’t come back for part two with a different name and source. He shouldn’t have brought his Ponzi scheme to Nigeria because we don’t forgive easily, especially when our hard earned money is involved. Well, it served as an eye-opener to many.”

Many residents of Soluyi/Sosanya at Gbagada area of Lagos State have fled the community over the reported invasion of monkeys. Some of the residents yesterday said they could no longer withstand the situation. The residents, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), called on the state government to save the community from the trouble, saying that the animals forced their ways into their rooms, destroying window and door nets, food stuffs and other

The Chairman of the community’s Landlords’ Association, Mr. Adigun Olaleye, said that it had become difficult for the community to curtail the monkeys and their destructive attitude. He said that the invasion might have resulted from the nearness of the community to a swampy forest that separated the community from Ifako area.

According to him, the monkeys come into residences at any time including early morning and gain entrance into rooms even if the houses are locked. Olalaye added that the community had written a letter to the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture as regards the situation but had yet to get a relief.

He said: “They said we would have to pay for them to come and pack the monkeys.”

The chairman said that the invasion had been on for years but recently became unbearable. Olaleye appealed to the state government to urgently intervene. Narrating her ordeal, a journalist who lives in the community, Mrs. Funmilola Gboteku, said the monkeys had forced her family to flee. She said: “Many times, these monkeys come to the neighbourhood to destroy our property. Once they see food items inside a house, they direct all their energies at gaining entrance forcibly.

“The monkeys are in the habit of tearing the protective nets on w i n – dows to gain entrance and eat whatever they f i n d in the house. “I h a v e had to replace the protective nets several times; I am tired of doing it.

“I have been locking my windows but locking of windows has disadvantages; there is no cross ventilation in the house, and as a result, we suffer heat.’’

Another resident, Mr. Gabriel Omopariwa, said that he was tired of the destructive attitude of the monkeys and had tried to look for ways to stop them, to no avail. He said: “On several occasions, these monkeys have destroyed our kitchen nets to gain entrance and steal food items.

“Several traps have been set to capture and kill these demonic animals to no avail. “One of my neighbours, while trying to pour chemical on a monkey, fell in the bowl of the chemical; she had to be rushed to the hospital. “She still lives with the scars from the unfortunate incident.”

A landlord, Mr. Joshua Folowosele, said that the monkeys entered his wife’s shop on many occasions to eat gala, biscuits and other foods. He said: “We have tried to poison them on many occasions, but those monkeys are too smart; once they perceive the smell of the food, they usually detect it has been poisoned. “Some of them have been killed with guns, but we cannot keep shooting in a residential area; it is very risky.

“Those of us who are landlords can testify that these monkeys have been disturbing us for years. “One of the landlords here had to sell his house to move to another place when he got tired of the disturbance.”

Another landlord, Mr. Oluwatosin Aregbesola, said his tenants were no longer feeling safe in the house because of the monkeys. He said: “The monkeys enter kitchens to eat our soup and any food stuff on the shelf.

“The day I tried to catch one of them, the monkey attacked me by using its long nails to punch a hole on my neck and scratch my face.” Aregbesola appealed to the state government to save the community from the menace.

One of the students of the Government Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, who escaped the February 19 abduction allegedly by a faction of Boko Haram, Rakiya Adamu, has refused to return to the school.

Rakiya, an SS2 student, in an interview with a magazine – The Interview – said she was terrified by the horror of the February 19 attack, and was not prepared to take any risk any longer. She described how the ter rorists arrived and entrapped them, saying; “They wore Army uniforms and were begging us to come.

They said, ‘Come to us, we will help you!’ “We were in school waiting for the Magrib prayer when we started hearing gunshots. We started running with our teachers, looking for where to hide. We ran and ran and jumped the fence. We became tired and ran into a nearby village where we asked for help.”

In a series of interviews conducted before and after the girls were released, the magazine noted that many parents, including the Chairman of the parents of the abducted girls, Malam Bashir Manzo, Dapchi youths, security men, and residents of the town, narrated the details of the abduction.

Manzo said he knew something bad was going to happen on February 19. He said: “I felt somehow throughout the day. I knew something bad was going to happen to me.

But I prayed to God to protect me from evil and other bad things.” Manzo’s daughter, Fatima, he explained, was abducted as she went to fetch water to break her fast that evening. Another parent, Abdullahi Kawi, and father of kidnapped JSS2 student, Aisha, told the magazine that the most traumatic part of the kidnap saga was the misinformation given the parents by Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam.

He said: “People like me stoned the governor’s convoy because he lied to us when he knew how terrible we were feeling. I’ll never regret stoning him.”

After the return of the girls, the parents have been divided on whether or not they would return their children to the school, despite assurances by the government that the school is now safe.