“All that glitter is not gold,” my wife voiced out from her sleep.
It was a strange occurrence but I ascribed it to the hectic day she had at work. She had complained about the heap of files that she attended to in her capacity as the permanent secretary of the education ministry. She barely took her shower before sinking into the one armchair in the sitting room. She planned to rest for a few minutes before entering the kitchen to prepare dinner.
From my adjacent sitting position, I saw her dozing off a few times before succumbing to nature. I had told her to go inside the room and have a quality sleep but she preferred to rest on the chair before going to the kitchen to cook.
“I think this woman needs to rest. I have to enter the kitchen and get something prepared for dinner,” I told myself before heading to the kitchen.
It was from the kitchen that I heard her talk. I wondered who she was talking to. I went to the sitting room to clear my doubts. I met my wife turning from one side to the other as she kept repeating the statement; “all that glitters is not gold.”
I tapped her to wake up. I was becoming scared.
“Who were you talking to?” I asked her.
“When?”
“You have been talking in your sleep. You said all that glitters is not gold several times.”
She looked at me with a strange face, wondering what I was talking about.
“I don't know what you are talking about. I don't remember having any dreams or saying some words to your hearing.”
I didn't push my narrative further. I returned to the kitchen to complete the cooking. My wife joined me to finish the process.
The following morning, I was in the office very early. I wanted to tidy up some files before the arrival of my boss who was expecting to have the treated files that morning.
My arrival coincided with that of the cleaner.
I stood in the corridor for a few minutes for the cleaner to clean the office.
“Good morning, someone greeted me at a close distance from behind. I turned and realized that it was Ahmed, my colleague from the accounting department. He was holding a bundle of fliers in his hand.
“I haven't heard from you since. Haven't the bank disbursed your loan?” He asked.
“I am still expecting them. I pray they don't make me lose this golden opportunity.”
“Alright, message me as soon as your account is credited. I am waiting for you before sending the investors list to the company. I need to do that with the payment receipts of each person's investment,” Ahmed explained before going to his office.
I got into my office and while settling down to get started with my work, my phone beeped. My account has been credited with 1 million Naira. I stood up and threw my hands in the air.
“It is time for my breakthrough,” I declared.
Ahmed had introduced an investment opportunity with a 50 percent return on investment, ROI, to me two days earlier.
“If you can raise a million Naira to buy 20 units of shares in this company, you have a return of 500 hundred thousand Naira after six months. You have the option of withdrawing your profit or compounding it. At any point that you are no longer interested, you can apply for the withdrawal of your capital. It would be processed within five working days and credited to your account.”
The explanation from Ahmed was hitting me like a laughing gas (Nitrous oxide). I was smiling cheekily.
“I don't have such an amount in my account but I can approach my bank for a loan. This is a rare opportunity,” I responded to him.
He gave me one of the company's fliers to read the details.
“We are into Agricultural processing and product marketing,” the details of what the company does reads on the flier.
“There is money in agriculture,” I remember my mother buying palm oil at the peak of the season and making 30 percent profit when she sold them off-season, so I convinced myself of the feasibility of the investment.
I picked up my phone right there and navigated my way to my bank App. I checked the loan offer from the bank and I found out that I am eligible for a million Naira loan at a 12% interest rate in twelve months.
“50% ROI in six months while I pay 12% interest on the loan. I am winning big in this investment,” I assured myself.
I gave it a click and the application for the loan was successful.
Having credited my account, I called Ahmed to inform him immediately.
“I will be with you during our lunch break,” he told me on the phone.
“I will just leave this money there for 24 months before withdrawing the compounded balance. I will resign from this job and become an entrepreneur myself.” I held my pen to my mouth while I was lost in the world of imagination.
As I smiled at my imagination, a call came from my wife to check on me. After talking for about a minute and dropping the phone, the thought of what I experienced with her the previous day took over my mind. “It was just a coincidence,” a part of me assured me. The statement; “all that glitters is not gold” occupied the other part of me.
At lunch break, Ahmed came to my office. Before his arrival, I heeded the voice of caution and concluded that I would test the feasibility of the investment by buying only four units for 200000 Naira.
“Why did you change your plan? What do I need to tell you again to assure you that this investment is genuine?” Ahmed asked me disappointedly.
“My parents need money urgently to settle some bills,” I made up a reason for not keeping up to the 1 million naira investment plan.
We completed the transaction and later that day, Ahmed sent the investors' list and proof of payment to the company. Ahmed invested 2 million naira.
Each time we talked about the investment, Ahmed would outline how he was going to spend his first ROI of a million naira. “I will withdraw five hundred thousand naira and reinvest the balance with the capital.”
After six months, the company sent a message to all investors. They regretted to announce that the ROI that would be paid is 20%. They promised to pay the balance of 30% a month after. I saw this development as a red flag but Ahmed didn't see it as such.
My account was credited with 20% which is 40000 naira. Ahmed withdrew his own too. He planned to reinvest the 30% ROI being awaited.
We waited for another six months without being paid the 30% as promised. The company declared a massive loss.
“We regret to inform you that due to some unexpected circumstances, our company is not accepting any fresh investment. Within the next 12 months, we shall refund the investment capital of our investors as we wound up our activities," the last message from the company reads.
“I am finished," Ahmed lamented in my office with red eyes. “I took a loan of 1.5 million Naira and added up my savings of 0.5 million Naira. I have been taking a loan from one source to pay another source in the last twelve months. I am in debt,” he cried out.
“From the promised ROI of this investment, I remembered a popular statement that all that glitters is not gold. That was what prompted me to go for just four units to test the investment,” I told Ahmed.
I didn't tell him that my wife cautioned me from her sleep with this statement but deep inside me, the credit of escaping that huge indebtedness goes to my wife.
“The deed has been done and lessons learned against another time. Let's talk about the strategy to come out of the indebtedness,” I console Ahmed.
