During a business facilitator training session, I introduced myself as a financial consultant and salesperson while discussing personal branding and how it helps people build a public voice. As I explained how my work had brought me to BusinessDay, I noticed that some participants were holding the Wednesday edition of the newspaper in which my article had appeared.
That opened the door to a conversation about money.
“The goal should not be to replace one form of blind risk-taking with another. It should be to understand the risks before committing our money.”
One participant shared an observation from a recent gathering: people seemed more willing to stake money on betting than to invest in legitimate opportunities that could help them build wealth. Others joined the discussion. We talked about the attraction of quick money, the distrust many people have towards investments, and the discomfort some feel when they hear the word insurance.
It raised a question worth considering: Why can the possibility of winning money quickly feel more attractive than the process of building wealth deliberately?
The attraction of quick money
Imagine having ₦500 and being told it could become ₦500,000. Or staking ₦100,000 with the hope of receiving more than ₦1 million. The possibility can be exciting, particularly for someone whose salary barely covers expenses and whose financial goals seem increasingly difficult to achieve.
Now consider putting that same money into an investment that may take years to produce meaningful results. The process seems less exciting. It requires patience, regular contributions and an understanding that returns are neither immediate nor guaranteed.
This is part of betting’s appeal: the possibility of a large, quick payout is easy to imagine. Wealth creation through saving and investing often demands a longer view.
However, the possibility of a large reward should not be confused with the likelihood of achieving it. Betting involves the risk of losing the stake, while legitimate investments carry risks that vary according to the product, market conditions and investment period.
The goal should not be to replace one form of blind risk-taking with another. It should be to understand the risks before committing our money.
Distrust has a history
It would be unfair to assume that everyone who avoids investing is financially careless. Many Nigerians have seen people lose money through fraudulent schemes, misleading promises and operators who presented themselves as trustworthy. Some have lost savings they spent years accumulating.
Experiences like these can make every investment opportunity appear suspicious. Meanwhile, betting is familiar, accessible and frequently discussed. People may hear about someone who won a substantial amount without hearing as much about those who lost their stakes.
Yet, familiarity is not proof of safety, and a compelling success story is not evidence that an opportunity is sound.
A betting platform is not the same as an investment. A Ponzi scheme is not a legitimate investment simply because its promoter calls it one. Ponzi schemes use money from new participants to pay earlier participants, creating the appearance of returns without a sustainable underlying investment activity.
Genuine investments have underlying assets or economic activities that help explain how potential returns may be generated. They can still lose money, which is why understanding the opportunity and verifying the provider are essential.
Financial education should do more than warn people to be careful. It should equip them to ask better questions, recognise warning signs and distinguish between opportunities that create value and promises designed to attract their money.
We teach people to earn. Do we teach them what to do with it?
Many people grow up hearing that they must study hard, get a good job, earn a decent salary and work towards a better life. These are valuable lessons. But earning money is only one part of the financial journey.
What happens after the money enters the account? How much should be spent, saved or invested? How should someone prepare for a child’s education, retirement or an unexpected disruption to income? How can a person protect their family without abandoning their own financial goals?
Without answers to these questions, a person can earn more and still struggle to build lasting wealth.
Financial education should help people understand how to manage money, grow it and protect it. It should also teach them that different financial products serve different purposes.
For example, insurance primarily provides financial protection against specified risks. Certain life insurance policies also include savings or investment features, but not every policy does. Understanding that distinction allows people to assess a product based on its actual purpose rather than accepting or rejecting it because of its label.
Before investing, ask what generates the potential returns, what could cause a loss, how easily the money can be accessed and what fees apply. Verify the provider and opportunity independently. If the explanation is unclear or the promised returns sound too good to be true, pause and investigate.
The goal is not to get rich overnight
There is nothing wrong with wanting a better life or looking for ways to improve your financial circumstances. The danger lies in allowing urgency to replace understanding.
Wealth creation is not always fast, exciting or easy to display. Sometimes it means making regular contributions towards a child’s education. Sometimes it means investing consistently in an asset you understand. At other times, the wisest decision is keeping money available for emergencies rather than chasing a potentially higher return.
These decisions may not attract applause, but they can help build a stronger financial foundation over time.
We need more conversations about money at home, in schools, at work and in our communities. Young people should be able to discuss betting, saving, insurance and investing without shame, while gaining the knowledge needed to make informed choices.
The next time a financial opportunity promises to change your life, ask yourself a more important question than how much you could make: Do I understand how this works, what I could lose, and whether it supports the future I want to build?
The aim is not merely to find a way to make money. It is to develop the knowledge and discipline to make that money serve a purpose.
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