The recent crash of CBEX has once again brought to light the tragic loop many people find themselves in, constantly seeking the next “big opportunity,” often at the cost of their hard-earned savings, trust, and even dignity. For many, platforms like CBEX appear as lifelines in difficult economic times.
They promise mouthwatering returns, using sleek marketing and testimonials to appeal to both the desperate and the dreamers. But what lies behind the façade is often nothing more than a repackaged Ponzi scheme, an illusion that eventually collapses under the weight of its deception.
There is a consistent pattern in our society: economic hardship, unemployment, and the desire to “make it out” push people to take irrational financial risks. The need for quick wealth has blurred the line between investment and gambling. This is the same mindset that drives betting culture, where people, motivated by the hope of a windfall, throw in money not based on strategy or discipline but on hope, hype, and hearsay.
This is exactly why I don’t bet. It’s not just about morality; it’s about understanding systems, outcomes, and psychology. Betting is built on odds designed for you to lose. You’re not building wealth; you’re feeding a machine. In the same vein, Ponzi schemes or dubious “investment” platforms package their systems in ways that appear mathematically sound or technically innovative—but at the core, they often rely on new entrants funding old ones. No real value is being created.
What makes these platforms seductive is not just greed, but the genuine desire of people to escape poverty or achieve financial independence. It’s not always about laziness or shortcuts. Sometimes, it’s simply about being overwhelmed and out of options. This is why such platforms flourish—because the social and economic realities provide fertile ground.
CBEX isn’t the first, and sadly, it won’t be the last. Until there is widespread financial literacy, transparency in regulatory systems, and a mindset shift from seeking quick money to building slow, sustainable value, more people will be lured into these traps. We must begin to ask better questions about where we put our money and what truly constitutes wealth.
In the end, the best “investment” may still be knowledge, patience, and discipline—qualities rarely marketed, but always rewarding.
“Bro, I put 500k last month and cashed out 1.2 million—no stress!”
“Shebi you dey dull yourself, even Pastor James don join CBEX!”
“I saw it on TikTok and even one banker said it’s the future of finance.”
These were the words that echoed in WhatsApp groups, on Telegram channels, and across social media. CBEX wasn’t just a platform, it became a movement. For many, it was the long-awaited miracle; a path out of financial hardship, a ticket to freedom in a system where the odds already feel stacked against the average person.
But now, the music has stopped. CBEX has crashed, and so have the hopes of thousands. Again.
It’s a painful yet familiar story. From MMM to Ultimate Cycler, from MBA Forex to Chinmark, and now CBEX. Nigerians are caught in a vicious cycle. We keep falling for dressed-up Ponzi schemes, cleverly disguised with buzzwords like blockchain, AI trading, crypto arbitrage, or DeFi investment. The language evolves, but the outcome remains the same: people lose money, trust is broken, and lives are disrupted.
Why do we keep falling for it?
The answer is layered. Part of it is desperation in a country where honest toil doesn’t always yield a dignified life. Part of it is the culture of wanting to “blow” by any means necessary. But the biggest enabler is our weak financial literacy and our collective obsession with returns, not value.
This is one reason I’ve never been drawn to betting either. Whether it’s sports betting or speculative money-doubling ventures, they are two sides of the same coin: systems engineered to prey on hope.
But hope without strategy is a gamble. Betting teaches you to love risk for its own sake. It rewires the brain to chase dopamine and “big wins,” not growth or process. I don’t bet because I know the difference between movement and progress.
With betting and Ponzi-like schemes, someone always loses for another to gain. And in most cases, it’s the people at the bottom who bear the brunt.
CBEX didn’t just crash. It exposed how deep our hunger is for success, for ease, for escape. But if we must survive as individuals and as a nation, we must learn to choose the narrow path: value over hype, patience over pressure, truth over trend.
Maybe it’s time we redefine what it means to “make it” in life, not by how quickly you multiplied your capital, but by how ethically, wisely, and sustainably you built your life.
Tonyaka DonTee writes from Ibadan