Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

After three years making millions as an influencer, the 23-year-old on this week’s Naira Life is following God’s plan and starting a career in music.

Tell me about your earliest memory of money

When my family moved from Lagos to Jos in 2008, I think. My mum sold books, food, and did stuff like printing and photocopying. My brother and I helped with food delivery . Not far delivery o. I was only 9. It was just stuff like, “Take this to Mr X’s shop across the street.” 

Do you remember why you moved to Jos?

My mum wanted to be on her own. My dad had left by the time I was born, so she lived in her family house with her two children. Moving to Jos was one of those independent moves for her.

How cold was Jos?

Cold. Very cold. Also peaceful, until the riots started in 2010. 

Ah. 

We started hearing gunshots and explosions from the estate where we lived. We had to move. 

Where did your mum go?

Lagos. We stayed there for a few months, then moved to Ilorin. 

Tell me about Ilorin

It wasn’t as cold as Jos, but it was calm and peaceful. But I always thought things around me weren’t developing. Whenever I went to Lagos for holidays with my mum’s family and came back. It was like I was returning to a rural place that had stayed the same for years.

Was there money at home?

We were surviving. Sometimes, it was good. Other times, it wasn’t. An uncle handled our school fees, and mumsi handled day-to-day stuff like feeding and transportation. We got ₦50 or so to take to school every day. We had to decide whether to use the money for food or transportation. If we chose food, we’d have to walk for hours.

To make extra money, my brother and I sold mangoes and lemons from the trees in our compound. For the lemon tree, a mallam that usually came and filled a huge sack gave us ₦900. Now that I think about it, he was cashing out on our heads. I majorly used the money to buy airtime to boost my 2go rankings. 

Did you ever reach master?

Nah. Professional.

What was uni like?

Chaotic. I can’t say I fully experienced it because I was drunk about 80% of the time, especially from my third year. I was just vibing through life. I made the most money in my life, so far, in uni though.

Tell me about it

I first waited at home for a year because federal universities weren’t taking 15-year-olds. That year, friends online introduced me to digital marketing, so I worked with people who were creating and promoting content. I was learning, but I got some money too. 

The next year, I got into university to study mass communication.

It started with me seeing a popular event producer on my university campus in 2015 and walking up to him. I introduced myself and told him I did social media and content creation, in case he had any gigs for me. Thankfully, he was setting up a gaming centre on campus and needed someone to help promote it to students and get people to show up. I took the job. 

How much did it pay?

₦30k monthly, and it came with a phone. I think the salary increased at some point. He also sent me social media management and content creation gigs here and there. 

On the side, my personal social media pages were growing into hundreds of thousands of followers because I was creating viral funny and creative content. Basically, I’d become an influencer. So brands were reaching out to me to promote them.

By the end of the first semester of my second year, I quit the on-campus job because I wanted to focus on my personal brand. 

How much were you making from these brand deals?

I wasn’t tracking, but I was doing at least ₦100k per month. 

Where was all this money going?

Flexing, drinking, feeding. Zero savings. I occasionally sent money home, but in retrospect, I should have sent way more. I even bought a car for ₦850k in my third year. 

Ballest

I also started two businesses. One was t-shirt retailing. I bought shirts and resold them. The other was personalised merch. I threw funny captions on stuff and sold them. I didn’t have any problems selling them because I had an audience. But I also wasn’t so serious.

Why?

Whenever I sold a batch and made plenty money, I stopped until I needed money again. And when I was leaving uni in late 2019, I stopped the businesses altogether. I had a different plan for my life. 

What was that?

Acting. I got a small role in a stage play in November 2019 that paid ₦200k, and thought, “This is good. I want to enter this industry.” So I began to plan my own stage play. I wrote a script with a few friends. By February 2020, I had 40 people show up for my stage play. It was great. After paying everyone that worked on it, I made about ₦50k. Then lockdown happened, so no more stage plays.

2020 was a big year for me because Jesus found me. I grew up in a Christian home but didn’t really take my spirituality seriously until I woke up on the day after my stage play and had a sudden distaste for living in sin, then began to seek God. I also started a Bible Study group online, started creating Christian content, and these activities challenged me to study and pray more. 

Sweet

Before the lockdown, my brother and I partnered to create a website that delivered food. Just think of something like Jumia Food. He built the website, I did the promotion. 

How did that make you money? 

We made ₦100 on each food pack sold through the app. We split it 50-50. We only did it for three months, but we made about ₦1.3m in revenue. 

My uncle gave me ₦300k when NYSC posted me. His plan was for me to leave the northern state after camp and redeploy somewhere, maybe Jos, even if I didn’t want to return to Lagos. He was willing to pay my rent too and fly me abroad to start my life after NYSC. But on the last day of camp, I was just sure God wanted me to stay, so I sent him a long text and he replied “Okay”. 

We’ve hardly spoken since then.

What was your year in the north like?

Wonderful. I was completely away from friends, social media, noise, and everything. I read a lot of self-help books, and grew spiritually, emotionally and all round, mentally. It was like I took a year off to understand God’s will for my life. 

Sounds great. How were you surviving?

Before I moved to the north, I sold my car for ₦350k and added ₦150k from what my uncle gave me to put in a forex trading company. I got ₦65k monthly for like two months, and then the thing crashed, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

I survived mainly on NYSC’s ₦33k and my PPA’s ₦12k until September, when I got a remote digital strategist gig that paid ₦50k monthly. 

Did you stay in the north after NYSC?

I wanted to. But God said I should return to Lagos to make music. That’s what he wants me to do. 

Gospel music?

Nah. Great secular music that’s not about fraud, sex and drugs. 

What was your plan to execute this?

To return to Lagos, make music and use my social media influence to blow in like two weeks. I didn’t realise I needed to put in work, learn, grow and go through a process.

How did it go?

I wrote, recorded and released a few songs, realised I was broke, got a ₦120k/month content job in April, used the money to buy some equipment, and made some more music. 

I also brought back the retail clothing business. I’m not making as much sales as I used to when I was in university, but I’m still putting things in place. 

Have you made money from music in the past year?

Maybe like $5 from Spotify. 

Let’s go and paint the town red

LOL! But I did get ₦5m from a family member for my music. 

I’m listening

I received ₦2.5m in November to buy more equipment and do artist development — vocal training, performance training, and to make more music. After six months, I’ll receive the other half to promote and market my music. 

All for free?

I offered him 7% of all my streaming revenue for whatever music I make in the next 10 years. It’s a great deal. 

What are your finances like right now?

I have like ₦50k saved and like ₦700k in mutual funds and shares. 

Is there something you want but can’t afford?

A power bike. There’s traffic in Lagos. Plus, I’m a cool kid, so why not?

How do you break down your monthly expenses?

How financially content are you? The scale is 1-10

3. I’m aiming for a lot more because I know I need money to achieve my goals as a musician. I need to be making like ₦200k in profit from my clothing business and another ₦800k from somewhere else. 

Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

The 23-year-old student on this week’s Naira Life started his first business in 2020. Since then, he’s tried and failed at five businesses. He doesn’t know what it is, but something keeps pushing him to try again, even though he’s now in ₦2m debt. 

What’s your earliest memory of money?

2006. I was seven and my mum sent me to buy something for her. I can’t remember how much it was or what I was to buy, but I lost the money and got the beating of my life. That day, I decided I’d always have extra cash so I wouldn’t be in trouble if I lost someone’s money again. 

Where did you plan to get extra cash?

I don’t know o. I just didn’t like the beating. But I’ve lost money plenty of times since then. I still lose money. And most times, I don’t have the extra cash to replace it. So I got beaten a few more times. 

Was there money at home?

We were okay. We went to Mr. Biggs almost every weekend. My parents were civil servants who worked with the Federal Road Safety Corps, and my siblings and I went to the best schools wherever we lived — whether it was Lagos, Jos, Kaduna, Abuja or Benue.

Why were you moving up and down?

The government kept transferring my dad.

How did moving around affect you?

I don’t know how to speak my native language. Also, it caused delays that meant I had to finish secondary school at 18.

Did university happen immediately?

Almost immediately, yes. 

What did you study?

Crop production. 

Was that your choice, or what they gave you?

100 per cent my choice. I didn’t want to be a doctor, engineer or lawyer. I don’t like stress, so I didn’t want a career that would make me think too much. I also hate competition, and I imagined those fields are competitive. When I saw crop production in the list of courses on the JAMB portal, I thought, “This looks great. I even like agriculture.”

What did your parents think?

They loved it. They thought I was thinking differently from people my age. They didn’t know I just didn’t want stress in my life. 

How did uni go?

You mean how is uni going? I’m in my final year. There have been strikes here and there, and COVID too. But I’m enjoying my course and can’t wait to be a farmer. Right now, I’m doing business on the side. 

When did you start your business?

During lockdown in 2020. I was stuck at home with my parents, and it was the most frustrating period of my life. They had a problem with everything I did. Even if I breathed, wahala. I just thought to myself, “If I want to survive this period, I have to get something doing”. I didn’t want to work for someone because I had bad experiences, so I started selling perfume. 

Wait… what bad experiences?

In 2017, right after secondary school, I worked at a cyber cafe, helping people type and register for stuff, for two months. The owner paid me ₦7k monthly even though I made ₦7k daily for him.

That’s how things are in Benue. People aren’t paid well. I know people with university degrees earning ₦80k while SSCE holders earn like ₦20k. 

When I said I was leaving, he offered to increase my salary to ₦15k, but I’d already made up my mind to leave, so I went to stay with my aunt in Abuja until uni resumed in early 2018.

There was a strike during my first semester, so I had to return home to find work. I worked at a provisions shop for three weeks and left because the owner and his wife were always insulting and fighting everyone, even customers. Out of the ₦12k they were meant to pay me, they paid ₦8k. Thankfully, the strike didn’t last long. 

So when COVID came, I thought, “What can I do for myself?”

How did you decide on perfumes?

A friend from my choir group sold perfumes. He told me he bought the oils for ₦2,500 and sold them for ₦5k — sometimes, ₦6k. When the lockdown was partially lifted, I bought some perfumes and posted them on my status. Whenever I went out, I had them in my bag.

Also, I was doing Virtual Top Ups (VTU).

Wetin be that?

I paid ₦10k to sign up to a website where I got data for cheap and sold to people for cheaper than they’d normally buy. For example, I got 1 GB for ₦220 and sold at ₦350.

Both businesses were bringing in an average total of ₦20k profit monthly for a few months until my other friends started selling perfumes and business became slow. So I switched to shoes.

How?

A friend who makes shoes told me to help him publicise his business on my social media and I’d make money from it. I first brought ten people to him, but my pay was a pair of shoes because he didn’t have money. Then I found another 20 people. After I introduced the first few to him and he messed up on timelines and quality, I started getting shoes from another friend who made them in Jos. This one sent the shoes to me, I sold them and kept the markup. I was making about ₦1,500 per shoe. 

This continued until I started another business in September 2020.

Dangote, please

A friend was doing POS, and it was bringing him money, so I thought, “Why not?” 

I needed ₦150k to start, and I had ₦20k. So I sold my laptop for ₦80k and got ₦50k from my aunt. After building a small shop made of wood and a zinc roof, and getting the POS machine, I still had ₦70k left. 

On the first day, a guy came, transferred ₦2k and collected ₦20k. I don’t believe in jazz o, but I don’t know how he did it. I know I saw a ₦20k alert. 

What did you do?

I just laughed with my friends and moved on. 

How do people that do POS business make money?

To use my POS to collect ₦1k, I charge ₦100. ₦25 goes to the POS company, and I keep ₦75. The higher the withdrawal, the higher the charges, and the higher the company’s commissions.

For how long did you do the POS thing?

Six months. I had to go back to school in late 2020, so I left the business with friends. The first person “lost” ₦100k in her first month. I can’t say she stole it because she’s a friend’s friend and she shouldn’t do something like that. The second person “lost” ₦60k in one month. By March, I just told them to stop.

How much did you make from the business in total?

I don’t know. I wasn’t keeping any books. I was even saving to set up shop in school but that didn’t work out because I didn’t have money. So I just stayed in school until I saw an opportunity to start another business. 

I’m not even surprised

I was on my bank app when I saw that because money had been entering my account frequently over the past year, I could take a ₦750k loan. I took it. 

What was the plan?

I used ₦350k to buy a plot of land for farming. The remaining ₦400k, I used to set up a cyber cafe on campus and continue my POS business. 

How did that go?

In the first month, the photocopier I bought for ₦80k spoilt. I fixed it and continued to do business. I was making like ₦70k profit a month and balling. I was sponsoring friends’ birthday parties and doing zero savings. Big mistake, of course. I should’ve been investing in another business. And it came back and blew in my face. 

How?

Remember the ₦750k loan, I was paying back ₦2k every day. Towards the end of the year, the school went on an internal strike. There were no students to patronise me, so I became broke again. They called off the strike during the festive period, so nobody resumed. Then, there was ASUU strike from early February till the end of 2022. Throughout that period, I stayed with my aunt in Abuja and worked as a primary school teacher, earning ₦45k.

How were you paying off your loan?

I wasn’t. They called and called until they were tired. I’d paid ₦100k before I stopped, but they said I now owe over ₦2m because my debt has grown by 200% interest. When I have money, I’ll reach out to them, and we’ll negotiate something. 

You’re killing me. What do you do now?

My friend and I have a restaurant on campus.

Sir?

He cooks, and we have two employees who help to cook and sell. I go to the market to buy goods and do most of the administration. 

What happened to the cyber cafe?

By the time I returned after the ASUU strike, the machines were rusty and would’ve cost a lot to repair. So I’ve left that one. 

I don’t know what it is, but even though I’m failing at these businesses, I just want to keep trying my hands at different things. 

How much do you make on an average month?

Like ₦120k. ₦60k from the restaurant and ₦60k from helping people write their research papers. I charge ₦15k per person, and I help about four people in a month. 

How do you break that down in a month?

Tell me something you want but can’t currently afford

A car. I want to start doing Uber or Bolt. I also want to move out of my parents’ house. And I want to start my farm. I’ve not touched that land I bought. 

On a scale of 1-10, what’s your financial happiness?

Minus 10. I’m in debt. 

Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

Because she could draw, this week’s #NairaLife subject’s parents thought architecture would be a great fit for her.
In university, she joined the press and media team and, from there, launched her editor career. Now, she’s a musician, looking to start her fashion line. 

When was the first time you saw money?

A cousin who owned a bookstore and knew I loved reading gave me a carton of novels to sell to my friends at school in SS 1. I sold two after reading all the books. And from those two, I got maybe ₦500 per book. That was the first time I ever owned money. 

SS 1?

Yes. I had no need to own money before then. There was food at home and in school, and a driver dropped me off and picked me up. My parents were very frugal too. They spent on only what was necessary. Like clothes, but only enough clothes, and nothing extra. What else does a 12-year-old need money for?

Why were you 12 in SS 1?

I was getting perfect scores in every subjects so my primary school made me skip classes until I began to get normal scores. I started secondary school at eight. 

Scholarstic

Das meee. I waited a year at home after secondary school because I was too young to go to uni, and in 2011 when I turned 16 I was admitted to study architecture. 

Why architecture?

As a child, I did a lot of reading, writing, singing and drawing. Towards the end of secondary school, I thought I was going to be a big fashion brand in the future because I was always drawing fashion sketches. My parents noticed this and decided architecture was a great fit. 

Don’t kill me. What did you actually want?

No idea. I didn’t know what I wanted. My parents even wanted me to study medicine at first, just because I was smart. Thankfully, UNILAG didn’t accept students below 16 at the time. I eventually went to a private university.

So how was architecture?

I hated it. I was lost and confused in my first year. I didn’t know what I was doing there. It’s like I had this creative energy and didn’t know where to channel it. At some point, I had a panic attack. At another point, I joined a theatre group. I was just looking for something to do.

I experimented a lot more in my second year until I found what worked for me. First, I tried to join the school choir, then I joined an entrepreneurial class, but they were not serious. 

Finally, I joined the press and media unit, and for the first time, I found something I liked. I was one of the very few non-mass comm students there, but I didn’t mind. I had to submit a written entry before I was accepted, and immediately, they thought I was great. From then, press and media became my thing. At the press unit, I was getting better at writing and getting heavily involved with administration. 

By my third year, I was head of the editorial department, and by my final year, I became the first-ever non-mass comm press secretary of the student council. 

Mad. What about school?

I was just drifting through architecture. I faked illnesses so I could miss classes to sleep and watch movies. I knew how to pass exams, so I wasn’t failing out of school. But my lack of interest was so obvious, a lecturer called me aside during my final year studio defence and asked me if I really wanted a career in architecture. Once I told her no, she passed me. I graduated in 2015 with a 2:1. 

What happened after uni? 

NYSC. The fun part of youth service was that I had the freedom to volunteer for things I was interested in. I wrote drama scripts and acted in plays for an organisation raising awareness for homeless children. That one paid me ₦15k monthly. I also volunteered for WHO as an independent monitor for immunisation campaigns and got ₦6k every weekend I worked. 

What did you spend your money on?

French lessons because I wanted to learn a new language, and vocal training because I wanted to become a musician. 

Bonjour le masi

Please. I finished NYSC in 2016 and spent the next seven months at home creating music content on social media to see if my music career would take off from there. 

Should Asake be worried?

Lmao, no, not yet. By May 2017, my dad got me an editorial assistant job at a comms agency. They paid ₦70k, and I was there until November when a mentor I met through my cousin reached out to ask if I wanted an editorial trainee role with a publishing company. After two meetings with the CEO, they hired me. 

How much did they pay?

₦100k. 

What was your plan?

I started out as an editorial trainee, but they threw me into two big projects in the first two months, and once they saw I was good at editing and managing clients, they promoted me to editor. No raises though. After two years, I got a raise to ₦150k, and in addition to my primary responsibilities, I also oversaw company events. Then I got promoted to senior editor and another raise to ₦220k. 

All this while, I was making music small small and performing at shows for free. 

It’s giving growth

LMAO. By mid 2020, almost the entire editorial team had left because the CEO insisted we all came to work immediately after the lockdown, and people weren’t having it. I was also going to leave, but she begged me to stay and offered me the managing editor position with a raise to ₦300k. I took it even though I didn’t want to. 

Why?

I had a weird relationship with the CEO. She liked me, but she was not a great boss. Working there was toxic. She was too emotionally attached to the job, and it affected the decisions she made and the way she interacted with us. There was office politics too, and my coworkers weren’t the nicest people. My dad had told me to leave, but the promotion made me stay. 

Why did you eventually leave?

I was poached by a media company that saw my LinkedIn. They hired me as a senior editor. It was a demotion from the role I was coming from, but it was more money and, more importantly, freedom from the other job. 

How much?

₦350k. 

And the working environment?

Much better. Less toxic. It’s a bigger team, but the people are much nicer. And there’s less pressure on me. I had a better work-life balance at the other job, but I can still take on side gigs here. 

What side gigs?

I have a contract as an editorial consultant with another publishing company trying to set up. I’m helping them build their structure and network. They pay me ₦200k monthly. I also freelance. I help self-publishing authors edit their books and write statements of purpose, scholarship essays and optimise LinkedIn pages for people trying to japa, and whatever other editorial freelancing jobs I get. Apart from the ₦550k I get from my two stable sources of income monthly, I make between ₦200k and ₦500k extra from freelancing. Sometimes, more. 

What does that look like for your finances?

This is what I have right now: 

And how do you break down your monthly spendings?

I’m curious about your plans for your career

I’m saving up for two things. First, I want to invest in my music. I want to pay for artist development. I don’t want to be one of those musicians who just wings it. I want to learn how to perform and promote my music. I also want to record a full-length album. This should cost me around ₦8.5m. 

Then I want to start a lifestyle brand that retails jewellery, makeup, household items and clothing. I’m already talking to manufacturers in China. I’ll also need money for promotion and marketing. I’m projecting I’ll need between ₦5 and ₦10m to get started. 

What do you want right now but can’t afford?

A home studio.

Tell me how financially happy you are on a scale of 1-10

5. Right now, I can afford the basics like food, shelter and clothing, but not the big projects I have planned.

Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

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After five years in university and over $100k in fees, today’s subject on #NairaLife decided in his final year that he didn’t want to work in architecture again. Clearly, his parents weren’t happy. 

But maybe their minds are changed now that he’s making tech money. 

Tell me about your earliest memory of money

When I started primary school, I got ₦200 every day, apart from food, to buy snacks. ₦200 could buy me a Capri-Sun, a meat pie and a bunch of other stuff. I couldn’t always spend all of it. So you can imagine my shock when I found out a classmate got ₦2,500 every day. For what?!

I saved the money I couldn’t use in a kolo. One day, my dad asked to borrow everything and didn’t return it. It was like ₦6k, and this was when the dollar was ₦150. That’s technically $40. Today, the dollar is ₦750. That’s like collecting ₦30k from an 8-year-old. It pained me, ehn.

Haha. Why was your dad borrowing money from you?

At the time, things hadn’t gotten good for us. I remember being sent out of school — more than once — for defaulting on fees. And my school wasn’t even an expensive school.

It was when I got to secondary school I knew things had gotten better. 

How?

We went to an expensive school where the fees were ₦500k a year. I started secondary school in 2005, so that’s $3,000 a year. My dad’s architecture company was growing. When I turned 13, we went to the US on vacation. We’d never travelled before that. My parents also got big cars, and it was in secondary school we bought the land for the house where we live right now. It was ₦29 million. That’s roughly $200k. 

Why do you convert everything to dollars?

It started when I went to the US in 2008. My parents gave all five of us $1k each. I think the dollar was ₦120 then. Whenever I went to a store, I compared everything I wanted to buy to naira and saw that I was getting stuff like video games cheaper there. So when I got back to Nigeria, I just started converting back to dollars on default.

I’ve kept at it as an adult because it just makes sense. The naira terrible currency to think in. 

Has that affected the way you think about money?

Yeah. When I convert the charges for stuff like mechanic services in Nigeria to dollars, I’m like, “$20 for a whole day of work? That’s fine.” So I don’t haggle too much.

My first ever job was in my second year at university in the US, so I didn’t have to do any conversions there. I made $12/hour as an intern. In my final year, I had another job where I made $15/hour. With that money, I could pay my $750/month rent, feed myself and even get a PlayStation. 

What did you study?

Architectural engineering. As the only male child, I was meant to take over my dad’s architecture company. 

When I was in my fourth year, my older sister got a cybersecurity-related internship that paid about $30/hour. I heard her salary and decided I wanted to switch to tech.

Just like that?

Tech was already a big thing in 2016. The billionaires in the world were tech people. I knew there was money there. I’d already been dabbling for a few years and had taken some relevant coursework my school required for all engineers. The fact that my sister was making $30/hour as an intern was what pushed me to make the decision to switch. 

I didn’t want to look back at 30 and regret not going into tech. In my head, it was: worst case scenario, I end up with a really high-paying job; best case, I create a product that makes me a billionaire. Win-win. 

What did you do?

I had unused credit hours left in school, so I used them to start courses in computer science. Then, I deferred my graduation by a few months so I could complete them. I had to pay for the extension from my own savings. After graduation, I stayed in the US for six months, getting better at coding, and in October 2017, I returned to Nigeria. 

Why didn’t you do tech in the US?

As an international student in the US, you can only stay for three years after you graduate if you get and keep a job in the field you graduated in. I didn’t want to get a job in architecture. 

Back in Nigeria, I had to pray and fight with my parents over this tech matter. It didn’t make sense to them that they paid $20k a year on tuition for five years and those fees just for me to say I wasn’t going to use the course for anything. For context, $20k was about ₦3m when they started paying, and over ₦10m by the time I was graduating. And I just wanted to switch careers? Who would take over daddy’s company? 

How did you sort it out?

I first worked at my dad’s company for almost a year when I got back. They paid ₦100k. Most of the time, I was in the office coding and working on small software projects with friends. Before NYSC in 2018, I built a cleaning service ordering app. It was more for me to learn and practice my skills than to actually make money. Somewhere in my head, I hoped I could blow with it, but realistically, I knew it probably wouldn’t. 

For NYSC, I got hired at an agro-tech company to build their crowdfunding platform. They started at ₦50k monthly and increased it to ₦100k three months later. I was just happy I was finally working in tech. I’d finally won the battle with my parents. 

How were you doing financially?

₦100k wasn’t a lot of money to survive on when I factored in transportation and some feeding. But thankfully, I’ve always lived with my parents, so I had food at home. When my dad heard my salary was ₦50k, he burst into laughter because I was earning less than his driver. 

In 2019, he decided to let go of his anger at me. Things had been tense at home, and he’d reached a point where he was willing to let me do what I wanted to do. He didn’t want a situation where I made it in life and said, “My father never supported me.”

How did he support you?

He gave me $10k and a tipper.

Sir?

The $10k was a grant. I was to use it to survive and buy whatever I wanted to, so I didn’t ask him for money. The tipper — he owns multiple tippers he uses for construction work. He assigned one to me. I was to discuss with its driver and agree on a monthly remission to me regardless of how much he made. I got ₦350k monthly from that until 2020 when lockdown happened.  

So I was making ₦100k from my salary, but I had money to fall back on. When NYSC finished, I felt like I’d learnt enough at the job, so I left. The next month, I got a job that paid ₦400k a month. 

How?

A senior software engineer had visited the company where I did my NYSC, and we’d spoken, so he liked me. He reached out when I was done with NYSC and gave me the job. 

How long were you there for?

One month. I quit. Toxic environment. I wasn’t worried about survival because I still had money from my tipper, the $10k, and I was expecting some money from an investment I’d done. 

What investment?

An agro investment. Those ones where you put in money to fund a farm and get returns in seven to eight months. But I didn’t use my money as capital. My dad gave me $40k to kep for my sister’s fees. He didn’t want a situation where it was time to pay it, and he didn’t have it. I threw in about $10k and made a few thousand back in profit. 

So you weren’t looking for a job anymore?

I left the ₦400k job in November 2019. In January 2020, I visited the US because my two younger sisters were going to school, and my older sister was having a baby. Then I got stuck and had to stay there for eight months because of COVID. 

What did you use those eight months for?

Coding, man. I just coded. I did the agro-investment thing again. This time, my dad sent $80k — for my two sisters’ fees —and I used about 30% of it to make some thousands of dollars that kept me afloat through the year. Thankfully, none of the companies crashed with the school fees money in them. 

When I returned in September, I still didn’t get a job in tech. I just worked on and pushed one of my big product ideas.

2021 was when I got my first remote job in tech. A friend referred me to his company, and they interviewed and hired me as a senior software engineer.

How much did they pay?

$28/hour. I was averaging $4,800 a month. I did that throughout 2021, and I can’t lie, it felt great to be making consistent money. I was finally able to budget how much I paid for what monthly. I increased the money I gave my mum and the money I dropped at home for groceries. It was great. 

Then this year (2022), I decided to take on more work. My guy in the UK does it, so I decided to give it a try. I switched jobs, got side gigs at different points, and it was stressful. I made money o. I even did $14k in one month. But the stress was too much. I tried to subcontract some of the jobs, but it’s difficult to find really good developers willing to take on those kinds of jobs, so I kept getting disappointed and having to do double work and push deadlines. I just decided to stop trying to do more than one job. I was kuku saving 80% of the money I was making while working two jobs. I didn’t think it was worth it for me. 

How much do you earn now?

My $7k-a-month contract with the last company I worked for just ended, so I’m not making any money right now. Rather than applying for new gigs, I’m living on savings and focusing on launching another product.

So are you optimising for high-paying job or billionaire founder?

 As someone that works in tech, it’s always in the back of my mind that no matter how fickle the industry gets, with layoffs happening left and centre, the surest way to have security is to have my own successful thing. I’m working towards that. However, if I’m getting another job, I don’t want one where I get paid based on the number of hours I work. Those are the types of jobs I’ve got throughout my remote job tech career, and I don’t like them. I want a fixed salary with paid time off without having to japa because I don’t want to japa.

Why?

I’ve had my fill of living abroad. I prefer it here because it’s home. 

How do you spend your money in a month?

There’s also subscriptions and random gifts to friends on birthdays. 

Do you want something you currently can’t afford?

Many things. Top of the list should be building my own house. I know it’ll cost me up to $100k. From my next big gig, I’ll start heavily investing in this project. 

Let me see what you have saved and invested

I put some money in crypto but I don’t think about it anymore since I got wrecked. 

What’s the last you bought that required a lot of planning?

This year, I’ve spent $15k on a vehicle and $6k on a US trip. 

How happy are you financially? The scale is 1-10

I know I can do a lot more, so I’ll say 7.5. 

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Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

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When they told me I’d be taking over writing Naira Life in January, I can’t lie, I was excited. What are the financial journeys, similarities, and differences of everyday Nigerians, and how has money affected their lives?

My conversations with strangers led to several captivating stories, but these are the 10 stories people just couldn’t stop reading. 

1. Naira Life: From Internships at 14 to $93K a Year at 24

“After this subject on #NairaLife was fired from her ₦200k/month job in 2020, she found remote work and hasn’t looked back since. Since then, she’s gone from $50k to $93k a year, and she’s only 24.”

This Naira Life is stuff of “God whens?”. Even I didn’t know what to expect when I went into the interview. Have I recovered from the fact that my mate is making $94k a year? Don’t ask me. 

2. #NairaLife: She’s Tired of Being Her Family’s Financial Backup Plan

“The 27-year-old lawyer in this story is the last of six children in a family that grew up very poor. Now that she’s making money, her family looks to her for their daily bread, and she’s tired.”

This is Naira Life 200, our last Naira Life for the year, but the second most-read. If people weren’t already talking about black tax, this one was sure to make them do that. In all, I’m super glad she’s made it out of the ghetto and is making good money now. 

3. The #NairaLife of the 19-Year-Old Student Who Doesn’t Mind the ASUU Strikes

“When we asked the 19-year-old on this week’s #NairaLife about the ASUU strikes stopping him from graduating, he replied, “I don’t mind. They should take their time.” And why not? He’s a millionaire.”

I wonder what he’s up to now that ASUU has called off the strike. 

4. NairaLife: In Just Two Years, This UI/UX Designer’s Income Has Gone From ₦120k to Over ₦3m

By 2019, this 23-year-old Naira Life subject didn’t know what to do with her life. Then she met a friend who told her to try UI/UX design. Four jobs later, she’s managed $65k a year. She thinks it would be more if she weren’t such a bad negotiator.

5. From Nursing to Hairdressing: This 43-Year-Old Mum Is Living in Debt

“Between 1996 and 2014, today’s subject on #NairaLife worked as an auxiliary nurse. Her highest salary in that period was ₦12k. Today, she works as a hairdresser and lives on loans she repays every week.”

Fun fact: In one week, this story got ₦335k in donations from Zikoko’s Naira Life readers to clear her debts and find her feet. As if that wasn’t enough, the subject was placed on a ₦30k monthly stipend from another reader from May to December this year. 

6. #NairaLife: How Did This Third-Class Graduate Manage to Make $20k a Month?

“After graduating from university with a third class in 2006, the 38-year-old subject of this #NairaLife moved to the US and got a $50k/year job almost immediately. How did he manage to grow his career to the point where he wants to retire in three years?”

A third class graduate from a Nigerian university making $20k a month in the US? How? Well, first of all, a few lies on his CV here and there, and a few failed jobs. 

7. #NairaLife: This Marketing Babe Vowed Not to Return Home Until She Made Money

If you shed a tear while reading this #NairaLife, you’re not alone. This subject went from sleeping on the floor with her family to going days without eating to sleeping outside. Then she decided she was going to make money, and nothing has stopped her ever since.

8. #NairaLife: This Gen Z Knows How to Use Her Network to Increase Her Income

“The content writer on this NairaLife made ₦65k monthly at her first job in 2020. Two jobs later, she’s on $2,500. How? She has a solid network and knows how to use it.”

An excerpt: “They reached out and asked how much I wanted to be paid. I told them ₦850k, and their response was that I should come back with a “round figure”. I was so confused. I went to meet the person who referred me to explain what that meant. And all he said was that I should aim higher. Before I could even do that, they sent me an offer — $2,500.”

9. The Soft #NairaLife of the Engineer Making Millions Selling Shoes

“The 30-year-old tech sis on this #NairaLife makes ₦800k from her job. Impressive, right? Well, she also makes over ₦1m a month selling shoes on Instagram. And all her life, she’s only ever wanted to spend money on food and her family.”

Life is funny. One minute, you’re disappointed the shoes you got online are not your size, and you have to sell them to your coworkers; the next, you’re making millions selling shoes because you discover you have a knack for selling. 

10. #NairaLife: What Happens When You Have to Raise Five Siblings at 20?

“When this subject on Naira Life was 27, he received a ₦50k paycheck and tried to return it because he’d never made that much before and thought it was a mistake. From working at age 12 to taking care of five siblings at 20, how did this man survive?”

Even though MTN was after my life during the interview, this is my favourite Naira Life from this year, simply because of how this guy rose through life. It really gives duty and responsibility a whole new perspective.

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Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

Luno is a great way to get into cryptocurrency Download and start trading today.

This 27-year-old lawyer is the last of six children in a family that grew up very poor. Now that she’s making money, her family looks to her for their daily bread, and she’s tired.

This is #NairaLife 200.

What’s the earliest memory of money you have?

I used to collect ₦50 for breakfast and ₦20 for snacks every day in primary school. I grew up in the east, so I’d normally buy okpa. If it wasn’t okpa, it was bread and then maybe a beverage or pap at home. But most times, I kept the money and spent it on biscuits during break time. 

You got money for breakfast and snacks? Wealth. Why didn’t you have breakfast at home?

Haha… who wants to cook it? I’m the last of six children, and three of my older siblings were in secondary school. My mum was a teacher, so she left the house early. It just made sense for them to give us money. 

And your dad?

He was a businessman, so he wasn’t always around. He sold oil and gas. 

Is that… wealth?

No o. Not that type of oil and gas. He bought cooking gas and retailed to people in the community, and he imported olive oil to sell to churches for anointing. 

You almost had us there. But things were good at home?

I have limited memory of when things were good, but I guess I can say they were at some point compared to when they became terrible. 

Let’s get into that

The first thing I noticed was that we weren’t eating as many meals as we normally would at home. We still got the money in the mornings, but provisions in the house disappeared and we occasionally skipped meals. But when it became bad was in Primary 4. The school started calling my brother and me out for not paying fees. 

School was less than a minute from my house, and we lived in a small community, so the teachers knew everyone’s families. My teacher liked me, so whenever they were sending students out, she didn’t let me leave the class. You know what she did instead? Any time my dad walked by the school, she’d run up behind him to shout, “Pay your children’s school fees o!” and some petty insults. I witnessed it a few times.

Ah

You know what’s even funnier? My dad never heard her. He’s the type of person to face where he’s going and ignore every other thing around him. So as she was shouting, it probably sounded like background noise to him. 

Do you know what happened to your dad’s business?

His shop stopped getting business. That’s what I know.

Things continued like that for a while and my mum made the big mistake of working even harder to support him. She started feeding us and paying our school fees, and this made my dad relax. She’d even lie and tell us it was my dad that bought this or bought that, but we had eyes and ears. We knew it was all her. 

By the time I was leaving primary school, two of my sisters were in university, and the other two were in secondary school. My dad said it was time to marry all of them off because they were old enough for marriage. 

God abeg

According to him, some family members and the people in the community where we lived, there was no point in training five daughters if they were just going to go to a husband’s house. Thankfully, my mum fought it. She was university educated; he never finished secondary school. 

After that entire thing, he told my mum he was washing his hands off taking care of us. If she didn’t want to marry us off, she should carry the burden of taking care of us herself. 

And he kept to his word?

If we went to meet him for money for school fees or whatever, he’d look at us and say he didn’t have. If we pestered, he’d say, “Go and bring a gun and rob me.”

From then to when I graduated from law school, I don’t think I got more than ₦20k in total from him. 

How did your mum do it?

It was grace. I don’t know how else to say it. There was a lot of borrowing and begging, but she also got a lot of gifts. At different times, when my older siblings came home from university, they taught in my primary school so they could also make money to help the family. 

When I was about to enter secondary school, extended family members started suggesting my mum sent me to do an apprenticeship or become a maid because the money she was spending was too much. But she refused. I went to a military secondary school where being a civilian’s child meant I had to pay way more than military officials’ kids. But with borrowing and begging and gifts, my mum singlehandedly saw me through secondary school. 

I never got new clothes. It was hand-me-downs from my older siblings all through. And there was no food at home, so even when my mum increased my daily allowance to ₦100, I used all of it to buy biscuits so I could save some for later. Till today, I can go a week without eating, as long as I have biscuits.

By the time I was wrapping up secondary school at 17 in 2012, things started getting better. My mum got a job at the ministry of education, and money started flowing in. Still, the suggestion to marry me off came. 

From your dad?

This time, from extended family. Again, my mum said no. She could afford to send me to university to study law. In fact, she could afford to move us from our two-bedroom apartment, where we’d stayed all our lives to a five-bedroom duplex where she paid ₦250k a year. Our former rent was ₦10k a year. She also bought a car and made sure there was always food at home. I even remember one time when I was cleaning the house, and I saw ₦30k lying around. Things were good. 

In university, it’s not like I had plenty of money o, but at least I could eat, and my clothes were mine for the first time. My sister was also doing her master’s in my uni, so I had my mum and sister to depend on. 

That’s how things went until I was in my third year, when things got bad again. Even worse. 

How?

Office politics happened, and my mum got fired. We had nothing to fall back on and came crashing down. When my mum couldn’t pay the rent that year, and my dad said, “Did I beg you to move?” We eventually moved to a worse apartment in a worse area.

School was a struggle. After every vacation, I went back in tears because all I heard was that there was no money. My mum would say she was trying to find money; my dad would simply say he had no money. I was surviving on my biscuits and occasional meals. 

My worst memory from that period was in 500 level when my mum was in too much debt to pay my fees. She and my dad are elders in our church, so she went to meet the pastor to help her with fees. The pastor had one request: let your husband come and ask for how much you need. I can’t remember how much it was I needed for my project, accommodation and school fees, but let’s just use a hypothetical figure — ₦150k. We told this to my dad, and when he got there, he asked for way less. Like ₦50k. And that’s what he got. 

Why?

I have no clue. He didn’t explain why he did it. On my way back to school, he gave me two Beefie sausage rolls to eat on the bus. 

My mum had to do more borrowing to see me through the final year.  

Damn. I’m curious about your older siblings’ role in helping your family

Life doesn’t always turn out how you want it. My siblings were doing their own things and trying to come up in life, but things weren’t working out. Some relationships were also strained. My eldest sister, for example, is complicated. We stay clear of her unless it’s an emergency. If she gives you money, she’ll hold it over your head until you pay her back. At some point, she had a clash with our parents and ghosted. The rest of my siblings were just hustling and struggling. 

Gotcha. When did you take your first step into fending for yourself?

April 2018, after university. My mum hated the concept of her children working while in school. She didn’t want to hear of it. It was just, “Focus on your books and come out with a first-class.” And that’s what I did. 

After uni, I moved to Lagos to look for internship opportunities so I could save up for law school. We didn’t have family there, so I stayed with a friend’s sister. The plan was to stay with her for one month, but I ended up staying for three. After that, she asked me to move out. She was very nice to me o, she just didn’t like staying with people. She even had siblings who were shocked she was letting a stranger stay with her for three months while they were staying with relatives in the same Lagos. 

Did you get that internship?

Yes. I started a six-month internship in my first month in Lagos. It started in April and paid ₦30k. I survived and transported myself with ₦10k and saved ₦20k. As usual, I skipped many meals, but I sometimes saw free food with my friend’s sister. 

After I left her place, I spoke with a senior colleague at my office who housed me for a month. 

For the last two months of my six-month internship, I stayed with another friend’s boyfriend. He had an apartment with a few of his guys, and they had an extra room, so they let me stay there. 

Towards the end of my internship, I’d saved ₦100k. But a friend brought an “investment” opportunity to me where I would make 50% profit in a short time, so I put the ₦100k in it. It wasn’t going to cover the cost of law school, but it was something. Of course, it crashed, and all my money went. 

Oh no

I sha worked one extra month so I could see money to take me back home in October. Back home, my mum started borrowing money to send me to law school which was starting the next month. Shortly before I was to go, her mum died. 

Now, in addition to taking care of her children, my mum also takes care of all her siblings and my dad’s siblings too. So when her mum died, everyone looked to her to sponsor the funeral. She told them the money was for my law school, and they said they didn’t care. That was the first time I stood my ground and told my mum she had to choose me. She sent me the money and told her siblings she’d paid for my law school, and that was it. 

How was law school?

My law school was in Enugu, and in that same period, my sister got a federal government job in Enugu too, so I went to her house frequently to get food and provisions. The sister that ghosted also came back and sent me money occasionally. So the year was okay. 

I graduated in August 2019 and returned to Lagos to look for a job. I stayed with my friend’s boyfriend again. This time, the plan was to secure a job so I’d already have a place of primary assignment for NYSC once I was done with call to bar. I sent out over 50 applications and did tons of interviews. But I only got two offers. 

One law firm offered to pay ₦150k on the condition that I finished law school with a first class. They took away the offer when the results came out, and I had a second class upper. 

And the second? 

Their offer came one day before my call to bar. They didn’t care about a first class, and the salary was ₦200k. Because I was in Abuja doing all my call to bar wahala, I told them I’d give them feedback about the offer the next day. I also wanted to call my mum so she could pray and find out if it was the right move for me. By the time I reached out to them the next day to take the job, the offer was off the table. They felt insulted that I made them wait. 

Wow

Luckily for me, one of the companies I applied to was a consulting firm that was looking to hire me as an intern, but they hadn’t made an official offer. I called them the day after the call to bar and asked if it was still open. They said yes. Their offer was ₦100k, and I was to resume in January 2020. 

So from Abuja, I went back to my home town to stay with my family for Christmas. Then I left to process my NYSC posting to the consulting firm. 

Where did you stay this time?

I have a friend from law school who said her parents wouldn’t mind housing me for however long I wanted. They’re an old couple with a big house. So I moved in with them in January with a plan to stay there for the whole year.

January was tough. I came to Lagos with almost no money, so I could only eat what I saw at home or whatever I saw in the office kitchen. 

What did the first salary feel like?

It felt great, but I knew I wouldn’t use it for anything. I used ₦30k for feeding and transportation, and saved ₦70k towards renting an apartment. My entire NYSC alawee went to my parents for the whole year. 

When COVID struck, my only expense became the ₦33k to my parents. I more or less saved the entire ₦100k every month, except when I wanted to buy foodstuff for the house. By December, I had ₦350k saved for rent and ₦500k as personal savings. 

Where did you plan to move to?

I thought I could get a nice place in Lagos Island for ₦350k. 

LOL!

I moved out of the couple’s house in January 2021 and hopped from friend’s apartment to apartment while I was househunting.

By May, I finally got my own place for ₦700k — ₦350k from my savings and a ₦350k loan from my office. I didn’t want to touch my personal savings. 

My salary also moved to ₦230k that January because the firm retained me, and ₦300k in March after performance reviews. 

Boss. What did this new money mean to you?

It didn’t affect me o. I just dey save dey go. I found it hard to spend on anything more than feeding, transportation and ₦50k monthly for my parents. I was still used to not having money. Or maybe it’s because I was saving to furnish my apartment that I didn’t think of spending money on myself.

Did this change at any point?

Yes. Midway through 2021, a few friends who I share similar backgrounds with decided that since we were individually climbing out of poverty, we needed to do things that made us happy, like going out together and buying nice stuff for ourselves. We all noticed that we were all finding it hard to spend money.

Nice. What did you buy?

I got a phone for ₦100k and a laptop for ₦290k. The laptop I had was what I’d been using since my first year in university, so I thought I deserved a new one. Also, I didn’t want to keep using my office laptop for my side gigs. 

What side gigs?

I enjoy research and writing. So in 2020, I tried copywriting, but I didn’t get any jobs online. Then I tried doing virtual assistant gigs on Fiverr, but I also didn’t get many jobs. 

In 2021, a friend introduced me to someone who does academic research and writing, and I got jobs from them. 

It became a lot of work, so in February this year, I stopped, and now my only side gig is virtual assistance to someone that used to work at my company. She pays me ₦150k. 

So you make ₦550k a month?

I got a raise to ₦500k this year. So it’s more like ₦750k. 

Beautiful

It’s beautiful, until the requests start coming in. 

Tell me about it

I promised myself that because of the sacrifices my mum made for me, I’d try my best to send money home and make their lives easier. But it seems like nothing I do is enough.

My family isn’t doing so well right now. One sister is out of a job. My brother also just got out of a two-year medical crisis, and he’s just getting back to his feet. My parents are old and sick, and they don’t work anymore. 

On a normal month, I send my parents at least ₦50k, but there’s hardly a normal month. These days, I can spend up to ₦250k a month on my family, and still, everyone is always asking. 

In March this year, I visited home and spent over ₦500k on stocking up and fixing the house. I also paid off debts for my mum because these days, she’s almost always in debt. Maybe it’s become a habit. When I was leaving, she asked for more money because she knew I’d just been promoted. After spending over ₦500k in a month. I don’t even spend up to ₦50k on myself in a month, even if I go out. 

It’s December, and she’s already called to say I should send Christmas money, even though I’ve sent them more than ₦1m since September. 

My siblings too are always asking for money. One sister even demanded I put her on a monthly allowance. My brother wants me to pay his rent. I spent last December and January paying the hospital bills of one of my married sister’s children. I’ve spent this December doing the same thing. She recently called me to say, “Hope the hospital bills you paid won’t cancel out the money you’ll send us for Christmas.”

Apart from one of my sisters who I have an actual relationship with, the rest of my family see me as a source of money. I’m scared to pick their calls because I know what they’re calling for. And that’s the most painful part for me. At least, let them check on me. I’ve had an overwhelming, stressful year at work. But it’s like nobody cares. I lost ₦1m to Agropartnerships this year. Nobody wants to know. I’ve tried to tell my mum to call me to check on me and not just to ask for money. Nothing has changed. I’m tired of being their financial backup plan.

This is… a lot. I’m so sorry.

…….

I hope this gets better soon

*I donate to an orphanage every month. 

You must save a lot. What are your finances like?

I have different savings for different things. This is what it looks like.

Sweet. Tell me something you want but can’t afford

I want to travel. Maybe if I dig into my other savings buckets, I’ll be able to afford it, but I can’t right now. 

How happy are you? The scale is 1-10

5. If you asked me a month ago, it’d have been much lower, but I’m mentally getting to a place where I’m like, it is what it is. But I’d be much happier if I wasn’t catering to my family’s needs. 

Do you think that’ll end anytime soon?

It ends this year. I’m planning for graduate school abroad, and I need to save towards it. From next year, I’m only taking care of my parents. Everyone else should sort themselves out. We’re all adults.

You might also enjoy: The Heartwarming #NairaLife of a 23-Year-Old Breadwinner

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Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

Luno is a great way to get into cryptocurrency Download and start trading today.

The 45-year-old on this week’s #NairaLife moved to Lagos in 1997 to be a housemaid. Between then and now, she’s been a tailor, shop attendant, cleaner and housekeeper. 

But after 25 years of work, her family still lives from hand to mouth. And she’s exhausted. 

Tell me about your earliest memory of money

It’s when I was 12 and decided to work for my own money so I could afford Christmas clothes. Before then, my dad always got all of us Christmas clothes, but I wanted to buy my own things. So I started selling efo yanrin (wild lettuce) I got from my dad’s farm and keeping the money until Christmas. 

How much was a bundle?

I can’t remember o, but I know the money used to be a lot at the end of each year. Maybe like ₦200 — I’m not sure. But I wasn’t making money selling only vegetables. My dad was majorly a tailor, but he had a big tobacco farm. He had workers who processed the tobacco before he sold it in bulk to white people, but he also had 12 children who helped for free. As the eldest, I approached him and said he needed to pay us too, and he accepted. So that also added up to the ₦200 at the end of the year. 

Every year, I used the money for new Christmas clothes, shoes and underwear. 

You grew up with 11 siblings?

Yes. It was normal for one man to have many children. My dad married two wives. I’m the first child of the first wife. I have four siblings from my mum; the rest are from my stepmum. But I didn’t grow up at home. I don’t know if it was a tradition, but both my stepmum’s firstborn and I lived with our respective maternal grandmas. 

When were you born?

1977. I’m 45.

Can you tell me what growing up was like?

I enjoyed my childhood. I never heard anyone complain about lack. We always had food. We lived in Saki, a village in Oyo state, but we didn’t feel like we were poor or villagers. Even when I hawked shea butter for my grandma, it was fun for me. 

Did you go to school?

I finished primary school in 1991 and secondary school in June 1997. After one month of staying at home to wait for WAEC results, I started getting worried I was waiting too long. I was also scared of going to university because of talk about cult killings. So when I heard people were going to Lagos to find work, I started thinking about it.

What type of work?

Housemaid work. I didn’t want to leave my parents, but after my friends encouraged me, I decided to go. My parents agreed. 

So you just came to Lagos yourself?

No o. There was a woman who took people from my village to Lagos. That’s what she did for business. A few friends and I met her, and in July 1997, she brought us to Lagos. Omo, we got to the bus park in Palmgrove and couldn’t stop crying. It was like a dream. I wanted to go back to my parents. But I was already here. We were taken to a house, where we met other people waiting for work. 

I’m curious, what would you have studied if you went to university?

I wanted to be either an accountant or a customs officer. Accountant because I was good at accounting and economics in school; customs officer because I heard they got a lot of free money from travellers. WAEC results eventually came out in January 1998. I failed, so university was off my mind. 

What was the process of getting a job like?

Someone looking for a maid would contact the woman who brought us to Lagos, and she’d bring them to the house to inspect us and select who they want. For me, it was about a week after I got to Lagos. A woman came and selected two people; one for herself and one for her daughter. I worked for her daughter from July 1997 to April 1998. 

How much did they pay?

We didn’t talk about pay. They had that conversation with the woman who brought us to Lagos. Whatever money they gave to her was given to us at the end of each year. Me, I didn’t get my money until April when I was travelling to visit my parents for Easter. 

How much?

She first took me to Eko Idumota market. I bought like four lace and ankara materials and some jewellery. Then she gave me ₦20k and put me on a bus home. At the time, I decided I wasn’t returning to Lagos to work for that woman.

Why?

It’s not like she treated me badly, but food wasn’t always available. Many times, I had garri for lunch; I don’t like garri. But I heard stories about how other people treated their maids, and I was happy I was one of the lucky ones. For example, one of the people I came to Lagos with was sent to hawk pure water in traffic and kept getting injured by cars. Others lived with people who beat them. 

After a few days at home, I decided to return to Lagos. I hadn’t learnt any trade and didn’t want to stay at home idle. It just seemed like the best option for me, and that’s what I did. 

Did you go back to work for the same family?

No. I just went back to the house in Palmgrove to wait for a new person to show up. And three days later, they did. One of the friends I came to Lagos with had worked for their family between 1997 and 1998 and also returned home, so they were looking for another maid. The woman of the house, a mother of three, came to pick me up, and I moved in with them. 

Were they nice?

They were great. Even though I did a lot of work — cleaning, cooking, and caring for the children — I wasn’t made to feel like a maid. I worked for them from April to December, then requested to go home for Christmas. 

How much did they pay?

The woman that brought me to Lagos paid ₦30k, but the family I worked for gave me some extra money and foodstuff to take home. 

Before I left, they asked if I would return. My answer was no. The woman was heavily pregnant, and I didn’t want to become a housemaid plus nanny. After begging me, they offered to pay for me to learn a trade if I returned. My answer was still no. 

Back home, I told my parents I wasn’t returning to Lagos to be a maid, but they were against my idea of staying. Then I told them that the family I worked for had offered to pay for me to learn a trade. I expected them to say no, because they could pay for me to learn a trade in Saki. Instead, they even used it to persuade me. So it seemed like I didn’t have a choice but to return in January 1999. 

In January, I started learning tailoring. But this meant throughout the time I was learning, I wouldn’t be paid for my maid services. 

Huh?

They paid for my tailoring classes, bought whatever materials I asked for and bought me a sewing machine. I accepted the deal. It’s not like I had a choice. 

My boss also had her baby in January, so I had to pause my tailoring school for a few weeks. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this, but on the day of the naming, I cried so much. 

Why?

I just felt like I was making the wrong choice. The fact that there was now a baby to care for made it seem like my life was over. Like I would work with them forever because I now had an extra responsibility. I thought I wasn’t ever going to see my parents again because I was going to be stuck there. I don’t even know where the thought came from because it’s not like they said or did anything to make me feel that way. 

When did you resume tailoring?

Maybe March. When my boss had to return to work after maternity leave, I became the baby’s nanny. Let me not lie, it was hard being a nanny and learning tailoring at the same time. Apart from the new baby, I also had to take care of the other children, pick them from school and cook for them. My progress was so slow! I would see simple styles and wonder if I could ever make them. 

Slowly sha, I got better, and by 2002, I did my freedom. The family threw a party for me, invited my own family from the village and gave me a ₦30k cash gift, clothing materials and a new machine. Then they asked me if I wanted to continue working for them, and I said no. This time, they thanked me for my services and took me back to Saki themselves. 

Did you stay this time?

No. In 2003, I returned to Lagos to stay with an aunt while I saved to get a shop. That year, I earned ₦6k monthly for six months as a shop attendant for a man who sold building materials. I left to learn some more tailoring with a really good tailor I found in my aunt’s area. But she didn’t want to teach someone older than her, so she took me to another woman. I didn’t enjoy my time there.

Why?

She was a Deeper Lifer, so she only sewed Deeper Life styles. Me, I wanted to learn how to sew what was in fashion. I sha stayed there for six months. By 2005, I got my own tailoring shop. I paid ₦30k a year for it from money I’d saved. 

How was business? 

It was okay. I made enough money to feed myself, and that was it. Nothing extra. 

I still kept a good relationship with the family I’d worked for. So I visited them from time to time. But I also had a boyfriend who stayed close to them. We’d been dating on and off since 2002 because I wasn’t sure my family was going to accept him — he’s a Ghanaian. I’d tell my aunt I was going to see the family, but I was actually going to see my boyfriend.  

In January 2007, I found out I was pregnant for him, so we got married in August, and I moved to his place.

Did you continue your tailoring work there?

It was a new area, so I didn’t find a place to work on time. Plus, I was pregnant. After I had my baby, I found a “joinman” job that paid about ₦2k weekly. My husband, who sews aso-oke, was also finding it difficult to get jobs. So we just managed however we could. Times were terrible for two years until the child started school, and I could look for another joinman job. This one paid between ₦16k and ₦25k a month because we were bulk-producing school uniforms. 

In 2010, I had my second child and had to stop working for a while. By the time I was ready to resume work, they’d already hired someone to replace me, so I just stayed at home with my children. 

For how long?

Until 2011. An extended member of the family I worked with heard I was looking for a job. She reached out to tell me her children’s school needed a cleaner. They offered ₦10k monthly. I took it. They also admitted my children to school for free, and the head teacher lived around my area, so we got free transportation most of the time. 

At home, things were still bad. Even if I tried to save out of my ₦10k salary, something would come up. My husband was also struggling badly. We could only afford food. That was it. 

Did things change at any point?

I had to stop working at the school in 2013 when I had my third child. Once I could work again, a friend advised me to put my sewing machine in front of my house and wait. Business would come. 

Did it?

Small small. People who wanted to adjust their clothes occasionally stopped by. If I was lucky, I got a job sewing attires from scratch. I was sha doing an average of ₦1500 to ₦2k daily until 2014, when I went to Ghana to bury my husband’s dad. We stayed there for eight months. 

When we came back in 2015, another extended family member of the family I worked for called to say her friend needed someone to clean their house three times a week. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do housemaid work again, but we had no money and tailoring wasn’t working again. So I took it. 

How much did they pay?

I asked for ₦15k, but they paid ₦10k. I worked on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

That same year, another person called to say they also wanted me to help them clean. ₦8k. I took it. Tuesdays and Thursdays. They increased it to ₦10k later.

By 2017, the original family I worked for called to say they also needed me to help them clean. Friday was the only day I had to rest, but even though I didn’t want to take it, I didn’t want to tell them no. So I took it too. The deal was a full day on Friday and an hour or two on Saturday evening to complete any unfinished tasks. 

They paid ₦15k, reduced it to ₦10k after a few months, and increased it back to ₦15k during COVID. Now, it’s ₦20k. 

Do you still work for all three of them?

I stopped the Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays job in 2021 but got one to replace it. That one pays ₦15k. I still do the other two. That’s ₦45k a month. 

Will you stop anytime soon?

I’ve wanted to stop for a while, but we have absolutely no money to fall back on. My plan is when I save up enough money, I’ll buy a commercial blending machine, put it in front of our house and get customers. I heard it was ₦25k in 2019. I don’t know how much it is now. But how can I save up when I’m the only one bringing money home? 

My husband hasn’t really done much since 2020 because he’s not getting customers. I think aso-oke isn’t as popular as it used to be. I’ve begged him to get a security guard job, but he’s not interested. He says they don’t pay well. But at least, it would put some food on our table na. I feed us, pay the children’s fees, and even recently, the house rent. It’s too much. All five of us live in one bedroom. We don’t have a freezer, so I have to store food in a clay pot so it doesn’t spoil. It’s that bad. 

And it’s painful because I’ve been struggling for so long. When I think of it, is there actually a period in my life when I’ve enjoyed myself? I don’t think so. 

[Editor’s note: Although the interview was already close to an end, I didn’t ask any further questions — about financial happiness and expense breakdown — because the subject was overwhelmed and seemed close to tears.]

Based on the requests, we set up a donation link for the subject of this story. Kindly donate here.

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Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

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Today’s subject on #NairaLife is motivated to make money for one reason: to be as far away from 2016 as possible. In 2016, she and her husband had to pick between borrowing to save her unborn child and her fractured knee because they couldn’t afford both. Today, they have over $300k in savings.

What’s your earliest memory of money?

Around New Year’s Day when I was five or six, my older sister got a calendar that had a list of years and the animals that represented them, according to the Chinese zodiac. As my siblings and I looked through it, we stopped at the years each of us was born to decide if the animal there matched our personality. Everyone decided none matched until we got to my year — 1984, the Year of the Rat. My siblings burst out laughing because they thought it was accurate. The explanation was people born in that year were frugal, and apparently, that was me. 

Were they correct?

They weren’t wrong. At the time, I was the only one who still hadn’t touched all the Christmas money we got from uncles and aunties. I don’t know where I got the habit from, but I saved a lot. I just didn’t think money was for spending. Maybe it’s the Year of the Rat thing.  

Was there money at home?

My parents weren’t wealthy, but we were comfortable. They never gave us pocket money for school, but they didn’t need to because we took food to school. I grew up in Edo, and we never really lacked anything. 

As a child, I could relate very much with Silas Marner from a book I read. He worked and had a lot of money, but he didn’t spend it. He came home every day to admire it. 

You made money as a child too?

Yes o. One day when I was seven and in primary three, I took guavas from the trees in our house to school, and my classmates liked them, so I started selling the guavas — 30 to 50 a day at two to three for 50 kobo. Again, I didn’t spend the money. I just had it in one kolo somewhere. This went on till I finished primary school two years later.

Did this habit change at any point?

After secondary school, I started spending all my money on clothes. For context, I grew up skinny and thought I was ugly. And I was a nerd. But you know that part of the Ugly Duckling story where the duckling realises it’s actually a swan? That’s kind of what happened to me after secondary school. I was still a nerd, but I was beginning to see beauty in myself. I just thought wearing fine clothes would bring out my beauty. 

I remember one time on my way to JAMB lesson, my eyes caught the clothes hung on display outside a boutique. I had every single one of them. I still have that problem now. 

Where were you getting money from?

Some of it was the money I’d saved over the years; the rest was money I occasionally got from uncles and aunts who visited. My parents still didn’t give me pocket money. In fact, throughout university, my pocket money was ₦2k weekly because my school wasn’t far from home. I went home every weekend for foodstuff. The money was just for transportation and emergencies. I was dressing very pretty, but I was very broke — especially before my third year.

What changed in your third year?

I met my boyfriend, who’s now my husband. He was a part-time student who was also incredibly broke, but we pooled our resources together, and that made things better. He also brought food from home sometimes, so we had enough to eat, and we could use our allowances for other things. It’s not like things were good; they were just better than the previous three years. Then he got a low-paying job in 400 level, and things got slightly better. 

I spent six years in university because I studied medicine, so I graduated in May 2009. In August, I moved to Ibadan for my housemanship. They paid me ₦173k a month, and I started saving again — ₦120k monthly.

That’s 70% of your salary

It was Ibadan in 2009/10. My rent for the year was ₦50k. ₦53k was enough to feed and transport me, even with change. Also, I was saving for one of two things: a car or a master’s program abroad. My parents have a policy — once a child graduates from university, they stop giving them money. So I had to sponsor myself. The budget was ₦1.5m or so. By the end of my housemanship year, I had saved ₦1.7m. 

Did you buy a car or go for a master’s?

I first went for NYSC in Delta in June 2010. I chose Delta because that’s where my boyfriend worked. I got a job that paid ₦43k monthly, and that’s what I lived on. I didn’t touch my alawee till the end of the year. 

That year, my plans changed. I decided to do my residency instead of a master’s. I had friends who graduated at the same time as me and still hadn’t found their feet because they hadn’t started a residency. Residency is a five to seven-year process in which you get paid to work at a hospital and specialise. 

I bought a used car for ₦800k and immediately after NYSC, I got a job at a specialist hospital back home in Edo state. It paid ₦214k. 

Residency?

No. I worked as a medical officer. You earn averagely and get promoted, but you don’t specialise. I didn’t want that. I was 27, earning ₦214k two years after school, and I had very basic needs, except when I wanted to buy clothes. Money wasn’t’ a big deal to me. But I wanted to specialise. That’s why I stayed in Nigeria.

I wrote my residency exams and waited for an offer. I got one in Lagos six months after. I reluctantly accepted.

Why reluctantly?

I didn’t like the idea of Lagos. I grew up in a much calmer environment and knew Lagos was fast and rough. In fact, I had a housemanship offer from Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) after uni, and I rejected it.

I tried hard to get a residency in my state, but it didn’t work. So my boyfriend moved with me, and we got married in 2013. 

God, when?

He also started a marine services company. He got a few small jobs that paid $100 a day for a few days. But we never really took it as anything more than a side hustle. Keep this info. It’s important for later. 

Got it. What’s a marine services company?

A company that offers services to individuals and companies that need to go offshore. For example, a boat going for oil work might need security operatives on board, a Nigerian chef, or anything. As long as it’s a service, our company finds a way to provide it. Also, some people have idle boats, while others are looking for boats to use for jobs or a cruise. Our company links people like that to each other. 

Back to your residency. How much did it pay?

₦200k at the beginning. Then it increased to ₦250k and ₦300k when I became a senior resident doctor in 2016. By the end of my six-and-a-half-year residency, it was ₦400k. 

I had my first child in 2014. In July 2016, when I was pregnant with my second child, my husband lost his job that had family health insurance. We’d just used most of our savings to rent a three-bedroom apartment. The rent was ₦1.2m a year, and the landlord said we had to pay for two years. We still had ₦1.6m in savings, and I wanted to have my second baby in the US in October. Things were already looking bleak because we had to survive on my ₦300k salary with a baby and US hospital bills on the way. 

In August, three days before I was meant to leave Nigeria, I slipped and fell, and fractured my knee. First of all, we had to shift my flight because the baby was in distress. I was in a lot of pain, but they couldn’t give me painkillers because my baby’s heart rate would drop if they did. It was a terrible time. Financially, things just got much worse. 

Oh my. What did you do? 

I still travelled but was in a lot of distress. I thought I could have my baby and also do a knee surgery. In Nigeria, they were saying I would need a total replacement and may never walk again, but maybe US doctors would have a shot. As a doctor, when I looked at the X-rays, I knew my chances of walking again were almost non-existent. My knee was gone. 

The dollar rates were also going crazy, so our ₦1.6m savings was beginning to look like a joke. We tried to apply for Form A for medical payments at bank rates through CBN, but they frustrated us. To have the child in the US, we needed $5,600. To do the surgery, we needed $7,800. If we knew the dollar exchange rates would climb, we would’ve bought it when it was ₦360 or something. It had climbed to ₦520. We’d spent money on our flight and accommodation, so we had almost nothing. So we had to resort to borrowing. We called every single family member and friend we could think of. It was so humiliating. I’ve never felt that low and terrible in my life. When we borrowed all we could, it still wasn’t enough to do both my knee and the delivery, so we had to choose. Of course, we chose my baby. I came back to Nigeria with my broken knee in November.

So what happened to the knee?

A miracle. My very prayerful mother forced me to try physiotherapy. She was sure God would heal me. As a doctor, I knew it was a dead end, but I decided to try anyways. In January, I started, and it was the most painful experience of my life. But in June, I proved six orthopaedic surgeons and myself wrong, and I was walking again. 

Love it. Were you still earning ₦300k?

Yes. I was on paid maternity leave until April. Even when I resumed work in a wheelchair and didn’t work much, they paid me. But because of the immense shame we felt when we had to beg and borrow, my husband and I decided we would make proper money. Until my accident, I saw money as something you just had. The accident showed me that money was a means to an end. Money would save you embarrassment. 

What did you do?

We decided to start offering marine services again. My husband had done a few oil and gas jobs in the past, so he had contacts. We put out the word that we’d do anything: wash boats, hire a chef, anything. He didn’t have a job, so he was able to chase these leads with energy. 

He went back to the first people we did business with.  They had a boat just lying there, so my husband met his former colleagues in the industry to ask for a job for the boat. What happens is you make contacts, apply a lot of pressure, pray and apply more pressure. A job will come. We started by providing security escort services for big ships. Those are the smaller, easier jobs that paid us $300 to $400 daily. When you offer small services well, bigger services will come, and with time, they came for us. The goal is to always have as many vessels on water as possible. 

But even as we were making money, I was still scared of getting broke. I was scared to call family members because we were owing them. There’s just something shameful about being in debt. What if they thought we were calling to ask for more money? I think I stopped being scared sometime in 2018 when we paid off our debts and did a big security escort job worth $40k in profit. That’s when I relaxed. 

Apart from co-running the company with my husband, I also manage the business and family finances. This year, we looked through our finances and saw the $40k in an account we hadn’t touched in a long time. I, a saver, had kept the money, and honestly, we’d both forgotten about it. It was hilarious. 

Wait, what? 

Oh, after that job, business got really good. At one point in 2019, we had five vessels offshore that each brought at least $1k daily for five months straight.

WAIT, WHAT?

When I saw money coming in like that, I decided it was time we built our house, so we bought land, then spent about ₦98m building the house to our taste. And then, we furnished it. That cost many millions too. 

Do you still practice medicine?

Yes, I do. Since I finished my residency in 2019, I’ve earned ₦650k monthly. My husband and I jokingly call it my side hustle, but the reason I still do it is because I find fulfillment in being a doctor.

What does an average month look like for the business?

A good month is $4k daily. Many times, it’s much lower when we don’t have as many vessels working. Sometimes, we act as middlemen. For example, I was looking at our business account recently, and I saw we’d received ₦250m in the past three months. However, only ₦50m of that was for us and the business directly. If we get a boat for a company, they pay us, but the money is technically for the boat owner. We just keep a cut. We also pay a lot of people on a contract basis rather than hiring them. Our office engages only essential employees longterm.  

How do you approach savings these days?

My husband and I do everything together. We have a ₦10m limit in our accounts. We try not to exceed it because naira depreciates fast. Most of our savings are in dollars, both in and outside Nigeria. 

How much?

About $300k in total. 

What of investments?

We try to invest in repairing abandoned boats and putting them back to work, but many times, the owner comes to reclaim them. 

Let’s talk about your lifestyle now that you’re rich rich

I think we’re still pretty conservative for the amount of money we have. I have a new car, but I still drive a 2012 car to work. I’ve never been a big spender on non-essentials… apart from clothes. But I’ve travelled on vacation three times this year, and I still love shopping for clothes I won’t wear.  

Is there something you want but can’t afford right now?

It’s not like we can’t outrightly afford it, but it’ll require heavy money. It’s a second passport for my husband and me. We’ve been making inquiries and it’ll cost us about $170k. 

We’ve discussed relocating because Nigeria is scary at the moment. To do that, you either have to spend money or time. 

Let me see how you spend money every month

What’s the last thing you bought that required planning? 

The house. We had to plan because we needed it to be in an estate and close to the kids’ school. We wanted it to have a pool and other features. It took a long time to get it close to what we wanted.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you put your financial happiness? 

6. I need to be as far away as possible from 2016. I also want to sort out my kids’ college fund as early as I can, and I want to get a second passport. So it’s 6 over 10 for me.

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