Embrace savings, shun Ponzi schemes, NDIC urges youths

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is encouraging Nigerian youth to cultivate a habit of saving and to steer clear of high-risk Ponzi schemes. Speaking to students at Lagelu Grammar School in Ibadan during Financial Literacy Day, Assistant Director Adegbenga Fagbuyi stressed that national prosperity hinges on citizens building wealth through savings and subsequent investment.

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The government wants everybody to be participants in the financial sector. But how can you be a participant if you don’t know how to save? How can you be a participant if you cannot convert your savings into an investment?

Fagbuyi, addressing the theme "Smart Money," detailed the necessity of basic financial system knowledge. He underscored the benefits of saving in banks, setting financial goals, maintaining discipline, and understanding the dangers of schemes promising unrealistic high returns. He noted that youth are a primary target for the government's financial inclusion initiatives, with events like Financial Literacy Day serving as platforms for mentoring on savings and investment.

"The government wants everybody to be participants in the financial sector. But how can you be a participant if you don’t know how to save? How can you be a participant if you cannot convert your savings into an investment?" Fagbuyi asked. He defined financial inclusion as bringing everyone into the financial safety net by encouraging participation in banking, insurance, pensions, and the capital market. The NDIC aims to prevent young people from becoming adults lacking knowledge of safe banking practices and investment opportunities.

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Government does not want them to grow old, to become adults who do not know about savings, safe banking habits, insurance, and the capital market. That is why we go to schools to sensitise students to all these basic financial matters, particularly savings, so that our students can begin to learn to save, learn credible investment habits through which they can be making legitimate income.

Fagbuyi also educated students about the deposit insurance system administered by the NDIC. He assured them that banks are supervised and regulated, and in the event of failure, depositors' money is protected. This sensitization program, a decade-long initiative by the Bankers' Committee (comprising the Central Bank of Nigeria, NDIC, and commercial banks), aims to reach thousands of students nationwide annually.

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When you save in banks, the banks are supervised and regulated. And if eventually they fail, you will not lose your money. That is what NDIC does.