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As inflation dey bite hard for Naija, many citizens don find demself in hot soup with digital loan apps dem. Dem don turn quick cash solution to wahala! Take for instance, Mariam Ogundairo wey need ₦30,000 (about $20) to clear am for bills. In search for quick fix, she download one loan app, and just like that, dem send the money with interest rate wey dey reach 21.6 percent!
Fast-forward two weeks later, when Mariam no fit pay back, the loan app style change. Dem begin call her contacts dey shout say she dey owe money. “I lost my security, and it makes me so sad and scared,” she talk. Na serious matter o! This na the kind wahala wey plenty Naija pipo dey face as dem dey struggle to manage wey di economy dey throw dem under bus.
All na marketing gimmick as plenty Nigerians dey fall for the sweet promises of low interest rates, only to find out say dem don enter big trouble. With inflation standing tall at 21.8 percent for July, people dey look for quick cash to survive, but wetin dem go get na harassment! Just ask the 24-year-old wey take loan of ₦70,000 during him school days. Dem tell im say him na “ritualist killer” after e forget to pay back. Na different kind gbege!
Now, this loan apps matter fit dey sweet like sugar, but e get serious side effect wey citizens dey suffer. With President Bola Tinubu don try to shake the economy with reforms, the pressure don make many people dey run to loan apps like dem be their saviour. Some economist dey even talk say Tinubu policies go yield better fruits someday, but for now, the hardship dey hit people for pocket like say dem dey collect direct punches.
Despite the new updates for regulations, wey the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) don approve plenty apps—408 in total—many no dey comply. Dem just change name carry the same wahala come back. Dem dey try manage this matter but no gree hold dem. Funmi Oderinde, wey be lawyer for Citizens’ Gavel, talk say dem don receive over 1,300 complaints for this predatory loan apps matter. E be like say dem sabi how to dey manipulate people well well!
Some victims don even come together on Facebook to form support groups, wey dey gather more than 21,000 members. Na here dem dey gist their problems, dey share how dem don dey face harassment. Imagine one victim wey open up sey her nude pictures plus fake obituary don reach her contacts! This na serious violation, and two people wey approach Citizens’ Gavel fit don carry the heavy load wey dem dey face reach their grave, according to Oderinde.
With the loan market dey open wide, wey CBN don release like ₦470 billion in personal loans last quarter, it dey show how desperate people dey feel in this economic climate. Loans dey look appealing, but na trap una dey enter as rates dey high like mountain. So my people, make we shine eyes as we dey navigate dis loan app wahala; no allow dem label una with nonsense.
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