By Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon
The Financial Services System (FSS) of any country determines the ability and capacity of its citizens to create and distribute wealth. The old tradition of Savings remain evergreen no matter what today’s Financial Gurus say.
Many of us have attempted to follow new teachings and thoughts around wealth creation and protection especially using real estate as the preferred instrument yet we are challenged to handle emerging risks which make it another of the several options we have tried without overcoming poverty.
Now, we have gone crypto and while money may have increased in personal wallets, the hike in food prices we face today knows no boundaries and bothers everyone.
Needless pontificating on how we got here, but it is certainly a great time to discuss how we can address economic stress of this nature; to avoid another future of discussing food prices amidst the strategic actions required towards infrastructure development.
Or are we going to use funds borrowed from the huge Pension Investment Funds to buy and distribute foodstuffs instead of building infrastructures?
Over the centuries, there are two non-traditional financial instruments that have built and supported citizens and their nations to survive economic depressions and recessions, and even subsequently, made them net lenders.
Insurance and Cooperative ecosystems have quietly done more for us than we would want to accept, or even promote them.
Let me tell/remind us how:
• Firstly, the age-long Cooperative System has remained a more reliable source of funding for the fulfilment of our dreams. It works so unbelievably well despite the introduction of the dreaded hydra-headed corruption into the hitherto transparent and accountable system.
Like many of us say “It is still better than the traditional banks where you put your money but never get qualified to borrow!” Cooperatives work as the best alternative to the Savings culture that modern financial services providers seemingly struggle with.
An environment where we are expected to be equal with one vote per person and near total adherence to the Bye-laws and Constitutions, Cooperatives continue to confound the minds of the uncoverted and excluded, who rather believe they are meant for lesser people.
Where Cooperatives are working effectively, even in Nigeria, the food value chain is controlled to the extent that they own farms and markets, and importantly, they produce what they consume. For these ones, the moments of high food prices offer opportunity!
In over 100 years and still counting, Cooperatives especially in advanced economies are still involved in agriculture, transport, healthcare, housing, energy and education. Citizens continue to take advantage of the savings and credit models maintained at single digit interest rates.
Have we thoroughly used Cooperatives in Nigeria? From what I know, we have not even started. When will we start if not now? The lessons from the current rise in food prices should lead us there.
• Next, Insurance, the other side of the Poverty Minimization coin, takes care of what “savings and credit” does not address.
When we fall sick or any of our Members pass on or our means of transportation become damaged as a result of accidents or natural causes, we need to have been insured to bounce back.
While Cooperatives can also provide insurance services to their Members, we are more familiar with the conventional insurance model, as we have in Nigeria. In fact, most Nigerians are unaware of cooperative insurance, and some players in the conventional insurance category do not know they exist.
When you have insurance at a time like this, when we are left with using all we have to buy food, you can access medicare and fix any damages to your assets because they were insured.
On the contrary, without insurance, the climate becomes harsher as you would not only be struggling to get food but would be unable to get proper medical attention or repair/replace damaged assets.
Poverty has often crept in when we are unable to bounce back or remain disabled and unable to honour obligations to our families, simply because a fall-back position was absent and/or unavailable.
Some have retorted when enlightened on the benefits of getting involved in the Cooperative and Insurance ecosystems “Why don’t we hear much about this? It could indeed help take us out of poverty”.
My response often is “Who has ever overcome poverty and showed other people how he/she did it in Nigeria? You’ve to find it yourself.”
This is why I had said previously elsewhere that “Insurance is Self-help!” So is the Cooperative System where “No one should be left behind” influences actions.
Let’s help ourselves out of ignorance and poverty. Join a Cooperative today. Take out an insurance policy today.
Your Cooperative can indeed serve as your microfinance bank and your microinsurance company put together!
Let think and act our way out of this dilemma, better than we have ever been.
I remain…
Assuredly Yours,
Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon
NCRIB NAC Award Winner
+234-802-585-0344
olagamola@gmail.com
Good production costs money and you can support what we do. Please find our details below👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾 Account name: MARKET ONLINE MEDIA Bank: UBA Acc No: 1026401930.
