In an exclusive interview titled “The Brutal Truth” on SelahMeditate, billionaire businessman Dr. Cosmas Maduka offered profound insights into what he calls the five levels of money. According to him, these levels are essential for building lasting wealth and achieving true success.
Dr. Cosmas Maduka began by stating that there are five levels of money, and ironically, the lowest among them is what most people chase after—cash.
The first level, he explained, is credibility. This, he said, consists of the consistent actions one takes over time that become recorded and traceable, forming a reputation that others can verify. “Credibility is the first level of money,” he emphasized.
The second level is what he termed credible relationships. “You may not have cash,” Maduka said, “but you have me, and I can unveil my credibility to you.” He illustrated this point with an example from Coscharis Motors, noting that their cheapest car, a Chinese brand, sells for 32 million Naira. “If you ask us to give it to you with the promise to pay in two weeks, we won’t, because we have no record of your credibility.”
However, he said, “If someone like Dangote were to call and vouch for you, even for a Range Rover worth 450 million or a Rolls-Royce worth 1.4 billion, and say you would pay in two weeks, and he would cover the cost if you didn’t—we would release the car.”
Why? “Because Dangote gave his word,” Maduka said. “He unveiled his credibility to you. You don’t have it, but someone else gave it to you. That’s another level of money.”
He urged young people to understand that when a rich man gives you cash, he may have shortchanged you. “What you need is access,” he said. “Let him keep his door open for you, so you can call him and he answers. That can put billions in your account—not 50,000, 100,000, or even a million Naira.”
Maduka reiterated that the first level of money is credibility and the second is credible relationships.
The third level is integrity, which he described as one of the most scarce commodities in Nigeria. “You can only profit from a product that is not easily available,” he said, “and integrity is such a product.” He defined integrity not as what you do when others are watching, but what you would still do if no one could ever find out. “Nobody can find out what you did, and you still choose to do the right thing. That’s integrity.”
The fourth level is character. “Character is the foundation of every man’s or woman’s life,” he said. He compared it to the foundation of a building. “If a wall cracks, we say repair it. But if the foundation is faulty, we say bring the building down.”
Maduka emphasized that character is often misunderstood, but it is essential. “That’s why God is character—because He is holy. The word ‘holy’ refers to God. Character is like the alphabet. Two is two in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, or China. It doesn’t become three anywhere else.”
He added that character is like a statue. “By 2 a.m., it’s still standing. It doesn’t say, ‘The sun is too hot, let me find shade,’ or ‘Rain is coming, let me hide.’ It remains constant. Any man or woman who has character will be successful and create wealth—but it doesn’t come easy. Character is also very scarce.”
The fifth and final level is competence. “You’ve got to know what you’re doing,” he stressed. “It’s not enough to speak in tongues. It’s not enough to pray. Some prayers we are making are useless.”
He warned against acting without correction or skill. “You pray in a mess. When you’re not doing the right thing, you need competence. You need to be properly schooled. That’s why people need to be their own mentors.”
He concluded by reiterating that the last and least level of money is cash. “Everybody understands what money is. But anyone who has money and lacks these five things—credibility, credible relationships, integrity, character, and competence—is a thief. He stole the money.”
“Money is an exchange for value,” he said. “If you have it and didn’t deliver any value to get it, you stole it.”
“That’s why I don’t respect many people,” Maduka declared. “No matter how much money they have, I don’t envy them. I’m not excited by them. I’m not terrified by them—because they cannot explain the source of their wealth when questioned.”
“And that,” he added, “is why I don’t respect a lot of people—with all depth of sincerity.”
