Members of the MMM pyramid financial scheme community across the country have celebrated the first anniversary of the scheme with donations to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other indigent people. This is despite the call by Nigeria’s House of Representatives for the country’s financial regulator and law enforcement agencies to crack down on the scheme.
The scheme which has been described by participants as “a community of mutual aid and donation exchange”, currently has over 2 million active participants in Nigeria
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the MMM community as part of its humanitarian week tagged, “MMM Cares” donated relief materials to IDPs at the Gwoza and Bama Camps in Abuja.
“We are marking our first year anniversary and we have decided to come and celebrate it with our brothers, mothers and children in the camp, Seyi Bello, a Guilder in the ‘MMM Community’ said.
“As a community, we do not only provide help to our members, we also extend that to the larger society as part of our social responsibility.
“In these times of economic challenges, the IDPs are the ones that need help and support more than any other person; that is why we visited them today,” he said.
He said that the relief items were bought from free-will donations of members in their quest to touch lives positively.
“That is what defines us as a community of people providing financial help to each other on the principle of reciprocity and benevolence.
“In MMM there are no lenders and no debtors. One participant asks for help, another one helps.’’
Similarly, in Ibadan an online media, reports that MMM community members in the city donated N2.5 million to hospital patients.
The community, which tagged its charity donation “Save a life”, said it was part of the reason the group was formed.
“And part of the motive of the organization is providing for the less privileged. We have come here and seen that there are a lot of people in need financially and we are here to render the assistance.
“We believe that if we save these people’s lives today, they would be the ones to save other people’s lives tomorrow.
“We are here to also enlighten people that the scheme is not a scam and to enlighten them on social responsibility by the community”, said Eleyele Benjamin, one of the community leaders.
