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.
What’s your earliest memory of money?
My primary school had this thing where they’d call out the students who hadn’t paid their fees. Then they’d flog them and ask them to go home. I started getting flogged in primary three, and it happened often.
That’s when I started thinking of money as something serious people needed. Money gave access to things such as school. Not having money could mean getting flogged. It didn’t help that my parents weren’t even interested in making money.
Why was that?
The religious organisation they’re a part of doesn’t place a premium on material things. They believe everything on earth is temporary vanity, and it’s more important to do God’s work.
My dad was a farmer, and my mum was a housewife, and they were both okay with it. They didn’t believe in getting a lucrative skill and earning more money.
Growing up, we didn’t even have a TV at home. I would listen to my friends talk about shows like “Super Story”, but couldn’t contribute. They had Game Boys, toys and everything I couldn’t afford. I wanted to be like them. I didn’t like my parents’ way of life, and it shaped how I thought about money.
I just wanted to make money and live a better life. I was so bent on doing more for myself that I didn’t mind trying any means to make money, even if it could land me in trouble.
Tell me more
First, there’s a backstory you should know. I finished secondary school in 2014 but didn’t start uni properly until 2017.
The thing is, I wanted to study law. A few uncles and aunties from my hometown seemed to be doing well as lawyers. It felt like a way to get out of the life I had.
My first uni admission was in political science, which my dad asked me to drop because it didn’t align with his religious beliefs. I tried again the year after and got history. I took it, but wrote JAMB again in my first year. I eventually got an admission offer to study law in 2017.
However, I had issues with my religious dad; his organisation had a rule prohibiting the children of elders (my dad was an elder) from attending the university. They’ve relaxed this rule now, but it was pretty tight then. If my dad let me go to uni, he’d have to step down as an elder. They gave an alternative, though: I could go to uni if I became a loyal, bag-carrying member of the religious organisation while in school.
However, I was pretty rebellious. I wasn’t about that life, so I didn’t practise anything. My dad and I clashed over it, and to save his position as an elder, he stopped paying my fees and supporting me financially. I had to start providing for myself from my second year in uni.
How did you do that?
Now we’re caught up. I did a few things that could have landed me in trouble.
Initially, I was just photocopying notes and doing assignments for students who had money and didn’t want to stress themselves out. There was one guy who delegated all of his coursework to me until he graduated; I literally earned his degree for him. The students usually paid me ₦5k or ₦10k per task, but the pay was regular.
Then I moved on to writing exams for students who had carryovers. We called it “doing machinery” for people. I’d use their student information to sit for the exam and write their papers. It was risky because getting caught was an automatic two-year suspension.
However, it was also really profitable. I built a reputation for giving my clients at least a B or C, so I charged up to ₦70k per paper. Sometimes I wrote 2 or 3 papers in the same period. It was good money. I’m not proud of it, but I had to survive.
The gigs only came during exam period, and I survived the rest of the semester with what I made from assignments. These were my main sources of income in school.
Also, in 200 level, I got in on a crypto investment trend I heard about on NairaLand. I can’t remember the details, but I think it was Solana. I bought a few coins and sold them at a profit. I made over ₦370k and saved it for school fees. That money covered my tuition — ₦127k/year — from 300 level through graduation in 2023.
What came next after uni?
I’d heard about programming in uni and had learnt a bit of HTML and CSS. I couldn’t focus much on them because of all the stuff I juggled for money.
However, after leaving school in May 2023, I began studying ReactJS full-time. I found websites that had pirated Udemy courses — not proud of this, but I couldn’t afford to pay for them. I’d walk to the ICT centre at my school for the Wi-Fi, download these courses, and return home to watch and practice. Someone I met online also sent me a flash drive containing courses on JavaScript and React. I don’t even know the person’s name. He just waybilled the drive to me for free.
In August, I found my first job on Reddit. It was a six-month front-end engineering internship at a small US-based company. They paid me $100/month, and I literally did everything in that place. I wasn’t working like an intern at all.
The same month I started there, I got another internship that paid me $120, but I only lasted one month. Bruh, it was the worst experience of my life. I was waking up every day, praying for salary day so I could get paid and quit. The micromanagement and unreal expectations were out of this world.
Omo. That’s tough
After I left the $120 gig, I focused on my internship with the US company until it ended in February 2024. In June, I found another front-end gig on Reddit: a freelance arrangement with milestone-based payments, no fixed salary. He could send me $200 this month and $300 the following month. The least I ever got was $100, and the highest was $700. In some months, payment came twice, and in others, my employer didn’t require my services.
I worked with him for over a year before I left in December 2025. There was no structure or team. My employer only hired US high school students as interns for a few weeks. When they left, he’d bring in another batch. I’m just starting my career, and so I felt I needed more exposure and experience with senior colleagues to actually grow. Plus, the pay wasn’t consistent. I wasn’t happy about the idea of working and wondering if money would come tomorrow, and how much it would be.
Ironically, about a month after I left, my employer announced on LinkedIn that the company had raised $500,000. I wished I’d stayed a bit longer.
Phew. I can imagine. What did you do after you left?
I got my current job with a Nigerian R&D tech company in January. I’m a junior developer, and my salary is ₦250k/month. Beyond the pay, my employers are really nice. I used to have the perception that Nigerian employers are mostly toxic, even though I’d never worked with any. I’m glad my bosses changed that perception. I’m also getting the exposure I want. I’m taking on new challenges daily, and I believe my career is growing.
That said, I’m hoping to get a job in fintech before the year ends so I can leave this JavaScript ecosystem behind and work with Java. Law school is also on my to-do list, but that might not happen this year.
Oh. Do you still plan to practise law?
Not immediately. Right now, law school would just be me completing something I started. It also wouldn’t hurt to have it as a potential career path.
I’m interested in data privacy and hope to develop a SAAS product in the space soon. I feel like being a lawyer would give me more credibility than just being a random tech bro. So yeah, law school could come in handy in the future. I just haven’t gone yet because I can’t afford it.
Speaking of, what kind of life does your income afford you?
An average life. I can eat without begging for urgent ₦2k. I’m single, I don’t have much black tax, and the area I live in isn’t too expensive. I live a very frugal lifestyle. I recently had to take a chunk out of my savings to move out of a ₦250k/self-contained apartment into a ₦700k/year two-bedroom one.
I also did something a bit risky. I paid three years’ rent upfront. Remember my plan to join a fintech? Well, I felt that not having to worry about rent until 2028 would give me enough time to focus and hopefully get to a point where I can afford ₦700k in rent without stress.
Your savings must have been a lot to be able to drop ₦2.1m at once
Yeah. That was mostly from my last job. My salary wasn’t predictable, so I saved heavily when good money came. It also helped that I didn’t really have any expenses taking my money. My savings took a hit, though; I have just ₦877k left.
I also haven’t furnished the place. I moved in November, and my parlour is still empty. There’s no pressure, though. All I do is work, learn and sleep. No one is visiting me, and I don’t need to impress anyone.
That’s fair. How has your income journey impacted how you see money?
It has made me more conscious of making money. Money is utility, and I can only do as much as I have. So, I constantly put this pressure on myself to seek out better opportunities and higher pay. I just got a job in January, but I’m already actively searching for better options.
Also, I’m usually frugal, but I don’t hoard money. As long as there’s a need, I’m happy to spend it. Because at the end of the day, if I die, my money will go to someone else. I just avoid spending on frivolities.
Let’s break down your typical monthly expenses
I don’t really consider my black tax as something serious. It’s not by force to give anyone money. It’s just how I help out family and friends when they ask for help.
Is there an ideal amount of money you think you should be earning right now?
At least $1000/month. That’s around ₦1.3m, and I feel like that’ll be enough to do certain things. If I earn that for a year, I can start working towards marriage. I’ll also be able to save a lot more with $1000 and check law school off my to-do list. My law school budget is around ₦3.2m – ₦3.5m. If I get that now, I’ll start the process.
What’s one thing you’d like to be better at financially?
I want to learn how to say no. I’m quick to sympathise with people when they tell emotional stories and often want to help them. I can’t solve everyone’s problem even with all the money in the world, so I need to slow down.
How about something you want but can’t afford right now?
To marry my girlfriend. I don’t need anything flashy, but I might still need at least ₦2m for a wedding.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?
8. I’m not there yet, but I’m grateful. Right now, I’d say I’m just floating. Earning $1000/month would take me out of survival mode.
Out of curiosity, do you miss freelancing? The income wasn’t stable, but you were earning more
I don’t. I prefer the stability of a full-time job. I’d rather know that I’ll get ₦20k on the 30th of every month than worry about when the next $500 gig will come. I don’t want to have “faith” that a big figure will come. I just want to know for sure that something will come.
If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.
Find all the past Naira Life stories here.
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