Experts Advise Nigerians to Embrace Prosperity through Savings, Investments

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Chief Executive Officer of Cedrus Group Africa (CGA), Mr. Olubusayo Adeniyi, has advised Nigerians to embrace the culture of saving and investment in order to escape the poverty trap and migrate to prosperity.

The Cedrus group is a Lagos-based Pan-African financial and investment institution.
Adeniyi gave this advice recently during the unveiling of the group’s economic outlook titled: ‘2023-Rearview, A Glimpse Into 2024’.
He said: “The essence of what we are doing is to move people from being poor to being rich. So, we first need to disabuse people’s mind of whatever error they have been carrying so that they will have right mindset toward savings and investment.

“Every fruit has elements of seed and bread. Sow your seed and do not eat it along with the bread. Remove your savings before spending. Prepare for your future with investments because it will always payoff.”  
Speaking in the same vein, the Technical Analyst of CGA, Ms. Oluwafisayomi Toyo, said that the mentality of spending one’s income before saving and investing would only perpetuate poverty in an individual’s life.

Toyo said that investment is very essential and remains the most effective way for the common man to become prosperous.
She, therefore, advised Nigerians to move their money from savings accounts to investments in equities, fixed income, real estate market etc. where it would yield more returns for them.

“The little you have saved should not remain in the bank. Rather, it should be turned into investment in various asset classes that will help them to manage the economic crises.
“Last year the equity market returned 45 per cent. This showed that there is a lot of value in the market. Positive returns on companies will drive the market further and their prices upward while some of them will issue dividends that will be delightful to investors.

“Doing nothing is the challenge. If you have money, do not put it in the bank; but you must intentionally and consciously invest in quality assets.
“It is a poverty mentality to be fixated with meeting one’s needs before saving and investing. The wealth mentality is saving for investment first before personal expenses,” she said.

Similarly, the Research Analyst of CGA, Ms. Chinemelum Nwaeze, who presented the group’s economic outlook, said that it is high time for Nigerians to begin to do away with the mentality that only the rich would be get richer while the poor would get poorer by embracing delayed gratification through targeted savings and investments even with N5,000 per month.

Nwaeze said that the outlook for Nigeria’s GDP growth in 2024 is cautiously optimistic and contingent upon effective policy implementation.

She projected that inflation is expected to moderate in 2024 but advised that priority should be given to “addressing rising inflation and continuous monitoring and targeted interventions are essential.”