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Omodele Adigun
To commemorate this year’s World Savings Day (WSD), Polaris Bank and LAPO Microfinanc Bank have urged Nigerian students to cultivate the habit of growing their finances through regular savings. The duo celebrated the World Savings Day with sensitisation programme for secondary and primary school students across the country.
On its part, Polaris Bank visited Government Secondary School, Hei-Rayfield in Jos, Plateau State and 30 other schools across Nigeria, while LAPO MfB carried out sensitisation programme for secondary and primary school students across 33 states
The Managing Director/CEO of Polaris Bank, Tokunbo Abiru, stressed the need for Nigerian students to cultivate the habit of growing their finances through regular savings.
According to him, this can be achieved by carefully and constantly monitoring discretionary spending habits and building a realistic budget that distinguishes between needs and wants.
His words: “Money is never enough, that is the truth. You must deliberately decide to save money which means that saving is intentional. You must learn how to save 10 per cent of your pocket money and save towards a specific purpose.
“Money saved should be placed in a financial institution for safekeeping and earn interest on your money. This reduces the risk of spending, theft and gives your money the chance to grow,” he added.
Abiru, who was represented by the bank’s Group Head, North Central, Olayinka Obikanye, listed some of the ways through which the students can realize financial independence; making use of their skills, being an entrepreneur, creating their own budget, forming a savings club in their school; as well as opening their own bank accounts.
Commenting further while fielding questions after the lecture on why the bank decided to organise the financial literacy lecture for the students, he added: “Every school is actually worth going to, but at the end of the day, you still have to focus on a particular location. And that is why this Government Secondary School, Hei- Rayfield was chosen.
“What we are doing as a bank is in line with our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and commitment to financial literacy for the young ones. We are happy that several years to come, the students will look back and remember our positive impact in their lives through these programs”
The high point of the program was the presentation of gifts to deserving students.
In her remark, the principal of the school, Mrs. Rahila Dafyat, thanked Polaris Bank for choosing the school for the lecture.
Dafyat, who was represented by the Vice Principal, Mr. Nash Gyang, assured the bank that the students would put the knowledge they acquired during the lecture to good use.
LAPO’s Managing Director, Dr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, in his sparate comment , during the visit to primary school pupils, educated through simple presentations on savings, the financial products offered by the bank as well as the need to manage money, said: “Our commitment to drive financial inclusion especially at such a young age prompted us to embark on this initiative. Customer satisfaction and convenience through alternative channels has given birth to our thrift collection model to encourage savings and ensure customer satisfaction.”
The bank , in a statement, said this and other similar events organized on the occasion of World Savings Day are integral parts of the financial education that LAPO has conducted over the years with the aim of strengthening financial inclusion and responsible financial management for the benefit of economic development and growth of Nigeria.
The World Savings Day was first celebrated on October 31, 1924, and since then, the global community has devoted October 31 every year to the promotion of savings culture all over the World.
WSD was established on October 31, 1924 during the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks) in Milan, Italy. The Italian Professor Filippo Ravizza declared this day the “International Saving Day” on the last day of the congress.
In the resolutions of the Thrift Congress, it was decided that ‘World Thrift Day’ should be a day devoted to the promotion of savings all over the World. In their efforts to promote thrift, the savings banks also worked with the support of the schools, the clergy, as well as cultural, sports, professional, and women’s associations.
Representatives of 29 countries wanted to bring to mind the thought of saving to the worldwide public and its relevance to the economy and the individual. The World Savings Day is usually held on October 31 except in countries where this day is a public holiday, since the idea is for the banks to be open, so that the people are able to transfer their savings into their account.
The idea of World Thrift Day was not born out of nothing. There had been some examples of days that were committed to the idea of saving money in order to gain a higher standard of life and to secure the economy, for example in Spain where the first national thrift day was celebrated in 1921, or in the United States. In other countries, such as Germany, the peoples’ confidence in savings had to be restored since many of them had lost their savings in the German monetary reform of 1923.
After the Second World War, World Thrift Day continued and reached the peak of its popularity in the years between 1955 and 1970. It practically became a veritable tradition in certain countries. In Austria, for instance, the official mascot of saving, the so-called ‘Sparefroh’ (literally: ‘Happy Saver’, or rather “save happily!”) reached a higher degree of brand awareness than the republic’s President and even a street was named after him. In the 1970s, the ‘Sparefroh-Journal’, an educational magazine for younger people, reached a circulation of 400,000 copies.
