Honestly, I get why someone might be worried about whether nelfund can be trusted with all that cash. When I first heard the numbers—N56.85 billion goes to almost 300,000 students—it made me wonder too. But then their boss, Akintunde Sawyerr, keeps talking about how they’re big on transparency and making sure everything is tracked properly.

From what I’ve seen, they’re supposed to have systems in place to avoid any kind of funny business with the money. I’m not saying nothing can ever go wrong (we’ve all heard stories), but at least they’re making it a point to say, "Hey, we’re being open about where every naira goes." It’s just refreshing compared to other stuff I’ve read about student loans where no one tells you much!

If I had a friend applying for nelfund, I’d probably say it’s as safe as most government programs—maybe even more because all eyes are on them right now. I mean, if something shady happened, the whole country would be talking! So yeah, I’d keep a lookout, but I wouldn’t be too scared either.