By Bassey Udo
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) are committed to enlighten Nigerians against illegal investment schemes in the country.
The Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, disclosed this during a meeting with the Director General of the NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in Abuja on Thursday.
Dr. Agama said although the capital market was an available tool for national development, there was the tendency for people to do the wrong things that would lead to impoverishment of Nigerians.
“These illegalities are not supposed to be. But many people fall victims due to lack of knowledge. We know these schemes are springing up daily, and these people are defrauding Nigerians. People are always gullible due to the need to survive.
“As a management, we decided to move out to enlighten people on their negative impact. We cannot assume that people know. We need to go out for mass communication and education, hence this collaboration with the NOA. It is only by co-operation that we are able to achieve the purpose of our existence,” he said.
The SEC DG solicited the co-operation of the NOA to reach Nigerians, because of its capacity and vast medium of mass communication in a bid to ensure that the message gets to every nook and cranny of the country.
“This collaboration is important, because it will go a long way at ensuring that Nigerians no longer fall victim to these fraudulent schemes. We appreciate that the NOA values this country and we value the work you do” he added.
In his response, the NOA DG, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, commended the SEC on its achievements in the capital market in recent times, adding that the Commission has not been celebrated enough.
“We commend you and thank you on behalf of the country, but most Nigerians are not aware of the opportunities in the capital market. An ignorant society will fall victim of many things that are avoidable. It is our responsibility to enlighten people to take the right decisions.
“We request that you provide information on what you do to enable us propagate them. Our primary assignment is to serve all government institutions as the communications arm. We do a lot of enlightenment in places like religious houses, motor parks, town halls, etc.
Issa-Onilu said the NOA engages in civic education to create the right values that would help most Nigerians be better citizens.
“Many Nigerians are deficit in good behavior. Both the Ponzi scheme promoters and those that patronize them are suffering from the wrong attitude and values. We have to encourage people to have the right attitude so they do not fall victims to Ponzi schemes.
“We have created a lot of platforms to interact with Nigerians. At the moment, we have 193 radio stations and five television stations that we collaborate with for our communication,” he added.
