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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What is your earliest memory of money?

There were the typical memories of cash gifts from older relatives, which I gave to my mum. But the most profound memory was realising that we didn’t have money. 

Our financial situation started becoming clear around the time I got into secondary school. I attended a church’s private school for my primary education, and I assumed I’d naturally progress to the private secondary schools my mates moved on to. But we couldn’t afford the fees. 

I eventually went to a lesser-known school that my mum couldn’t afford either. At least once or twice every term, I was called out for owing school fees. In JSS 2, I had to move to the school where my mum taught.

On top of that, my mum was always asking our well-off relatives and her friends for money or taking things on credit from vendors. Going to my cousins’ houses became uncomfortable because we all knew that every visit meant my mum was about to beg for money.

I notice you keep mentioning just your mum

Yes. My mum is a single parent. All I know is that my dad never wanted to be in the picture, so my mum raised my sister and me.

Beyond the school fees, things were so tight that we sometimes couldn’t feed ourselves. We would sit around the table waiting for a family friend or relative to answer my mum’s call so we could buy food. My heart would beat so fast whenever I was walking home from school because I wasn’t sure if there was food at home. 

One day, a teacher at school asked me in front of the class if I was the poorest child in the school because my hair was undone and I didn’t have lunch. I was so embarrassed.

Sigh. That’s terrible

The annoying thing was that even though relatives often helped us, it hardly showed up in our lives. I know that my uncles sent around ₦500k or more several times to help, but the money would disappear within weeks. My mum was always coming up with vague business plans that never materialised. It was a constant cycle of getting money, losing it, and going right back to begging. 

Maybe I’m being overly judgmental, but I still feel that she made too many bad decisions. I was always so angry like, “What are you even thinking? Why will you do things like this?”

Even the school she moved me to, she still couldn’t pay the fees. I was known for never paying school fees. School staff always looked at me somehow. Everyone knew that, “Small thing now, your mummy will come and beg.”

Phew. That must’ve been a lot for you. How did all of that financial stress affect you?

I was constantly embarrassed. In SS1, I finally told my mum to move me to a different school, or I’d run away. She moved me, but the whole situation had made me too scared to form close relationships or make deep connections with people. I constantly felt like I didn’t belong. It was really traumatic.

It also made me want to make my own money very early, and gave me a deep scarcity mindset at the same time. On the one hand, I desperately wanted money; on the other, I felt it wasn’t available to me. Like a “Can I even have money?” feeling.

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When did you first act on this desire to make money?

At 14. This was in 2018, and I’d just graduated from secondary school. I didn’t go straight to university — actually, I didn’t want to go. I was so exhausted from constantly being bullied in secondary school, and I just needed a break.

Also, my mum kept talking about “having faith” to send me to a private university. That’s another thing about her. She was very religious and never planned for things, only choosing to believe that things would “work out”. Of course, that meant begging people for money. 

When she brought up the private uni matter, I wanted to scream. The same person who couldn’t afford secondary school was open to such a crazy idea.

Anyway, I got a job as a teaching assistant/minder at a school run by our church. I worked there for a year, earning ₦20k/month. For the first two months, I saved half of my salary to buy a cheap phone. Then, for most of the year I worked there, I saved the remaining half in my mum’s account. I didn’t have a bank account, and I was saving towards my university admission. 

I saved about ₦80k in total, but at the end of the year, I found out the money was gone. I was supposed to pay acceptance fees and other expenses of about ₦100k+.

What do you mean the money was gone?

My mum had used it. When I asked her for it, she said, “I had to sort things out. I didn’t use it to buy clothes or shoes. It’s not my fault. Everything is expensive.”

Then she started making me feel guilty because, of course, I ate from the food she bought with it; I just didn’t know it was my money. 

I couldn’t even process the anger. I just let it go. She later went behind my back to borrow money from a church member — which she never paid back — to cover the uni fees.

How did you navigate finances in uni?

I gained admission in late 2019, but I was home for a while after the lockdown hit in 2020, followed by ASUU strikes.

I started writing online during the lockdown and became active on Facebook. Around this time, I saw a Facebook post from a movie director looking for script synopses. I sent in a story idea, expecting a quick payout. Instead, he asked me to develop the full script. I spent a whole year writing and developing it with him. He ended up paying me ₦70k. 

I’m sure it was clear to the man that I was a novice. He was supposed to pay me ₦150k, but I didn’t complain or say anything when he paid me less than half of the amount. I was probably unwise, but also just excited for something I wrote to be developed and put onscreen. I was actively trying to become a script writer, so I didn’t mind. I even wrote comedy skit scripts for people online for free. 

By 2022, my pastor paid for me to take a graphic design class, and someone gifted me a laptop. I started freelancing, making ₦1,500 to ₦2,000 per design.

Were you able to build a steady income from freelancing?

Not really. I lacked the business sense, a trait I definitely inherited from my mum. I didn’t know how to market myself online or retain high-paying clients.

In early 2023, my laptop completely broke down. This matters because later that year, I tried ghostwriting web novels for someone online. So I wrote a nearly 100,000-word story on my phone. He paid me ₦6,000 for the initial outline, but after I delivered the final draft, he blocked me without paying my balance.

Omo. How were you handling living expenses in school then?

I was mostly surviving day-to-day. Pocket money wasn’t consistent, and I could go days without eating. Also, I don’t think I was as enterprising in school as I should have been. I wanted money, but I couldn’t make the moves to earn it. I often felt stuck, making excuses like “my laptop and phone are bad,” and I couldn’t do anything to change my situation.  

A small ray of hope shone later that year. In 300 level, I won a government scholarship that was to pay me ₦250k per session. Tuition was ₦45k, so I could easily pay my fees and have extra.

Oh nice

However, government disbursements take forever. The money didn’t hit my account until April 2024. While waiting, I took a writing job in January 2024 that paid ₦60k/month. My job was to write two articles daily and post on social media. But my phone kept overheating and turning off mid-work. As a result, I often didn’t meet my deliverables.

As if that wasn’t stressful enough, my mum kept planning my salary before it even arrived. I wanted to use most of my salary to fix my laptop, but she’d constantly tell me to “relax” and wait for the scholarship money. Of course, she said that because she’d already planned my salary for household expenses.

Honestly, the whole thing was my fault. I didn’t take my destiny into my own hands. I should’ve said, “No. This is what I’ll do with my money. I’ll fix my laptop and do other things I want.” 

But I didn’t. 

I eventually had to quit the job after three months, because I had to manage the same phone for school, and it was affecting my studies. I didn’t want anything to affect my grades in any way, which is probably why I wasn’t money-minded then. I regret it now, sha.

When the scholarship money eventually came in, it went to rent and other household needs. That was the pattern for the rest of my time in uni. The scholarship covered my fees, and I helped out at home. There was one time my mum started borrowing from loan apps, and I had to step in. See, let me not even get into that.

Fair enough. What came next after graduating from uni?

I graduated in late 2025 and decided to stop treating content as a side hustle and take LinkedIn seriously. I started learning more about content and applying for jobs.

In January 2026, I got my first job as a content marketing associate at a tech startup. My salary was ₦180k/month. A few days later, I got another job as a social media manager for an individual professional for ₦80k/month. Both were remote jobs. For the latter, I had to go to my employer’s house and shoot content periodically. Technically, my salary was ₦50k, since I was paying someone ₦30k to help me edit the videos, as I didn’t really know how.

In the same January, I got a third job — this one is more of a recurring gig — as the Instagram handler for a Nigerian living abroad. The job was on an as-needed basis, so she paid me ₦25k/post. Sometimes I did three in a month, sometimes I did zero. That January, I made about ₦300k from all three jobs.

Not bad. Do you still do all three jobs now?

Hmm. Not exactly. I got fired from my content marketing job in April. They merged the role with product marketing, and I wasn’t delivering as expected. 

Damn. I’m so sorry

Thank you. I was really heartbroken. I was so attached to the startup and really liked it there. I started questioning my skills and wondering if I was good enough. I think another thing that affected me at the job was our power situation. We’d go days without light, and I’d be looking for where to charge. Sometimes I’d just burst into tears because I was so scared I was messing up my life.

Anyway, after getting fired, I spent the next two months recovering. I also started editing videos at the ₦80k job myself, so I kept the whole pay. In June, I began posting more on LinkedIn and sending cold emails. One of those emails led to a one-time ₦100k content and communications gig with a startup.

Then, towards the end of July, I got three part-time roles with three different early-stage startups.

Mad mad. Can you break that down for me?

So, if I add these three new ones to my ₦80k social media management gig from early in the year, I have:

Communications officer: ₦180k/month

Programmes staff: ₦150k/month

Community manager: ₦100k/month

Social media management: ₦80k/month

Altogether, that’s ₦510k monthly. There’s still the ₦25k-per-post gig, but it’s very irregular, so I’m not counting that.

Out of curiosity, does your mum still “plan” your income?

She definitely has expectations because she knows how much I earn. It’s kind of difficult to hide it because of where we live. We stay in a small flat, and since I take my interviews at home, she hears everything. 

Recently, she asked my sister and me to contribute ₦125k each toward our house rent. I’ll pay it, but I plan to be an adult and set firm boundaries. We’ve had arguments because she constantly demands more, but I told her point-blank that once I leave for NYSC later this year, my monthly contribution to her will be capped at ₦50k.

How did she react to that?

She cried and shouted, but omo, that ship has sailed. My current jobs are contracts, and I need to find a permanent one and save money. I can’t be earning this amount and not be able to do anything with it.

I’m building my life now. Besides, she still earns a salary, and she isn’t feeding anyone. I can’t let any black tax pressure ruin my future or return me to how bad things were in my childhood.

Let’s break down your typical monthly expenses

I’ll use my projected expenses for this month as an example since I only started earning this much:

What does your savings portfolio look like?

It’s practically zero right now. Everything I saved between January and May 2026 went into my uni clearance and convocation expenses, which cost me about ₦180k. Then I loaned my mum ₦45k, which she hasn’t repaid.

I’m starting from scratch this month. My immediate goal is to save ₦200k to buy a portable power station for backup power.

How would you describe your relationship with money?

It’s getting better. I actively look for ways to make money, and I don’t feel the need to spend it all. I’m also a bit better at budgeting now than I was before. 

Do you think you still have the scarcity mindset?

Kind of. I’m constantly thinking, “After this job, what next?” I even find myself applying to jobs on impulse, just because I don’t ever want to depend on one person or get stranded. So, there’s a constant fear. But I’m working on it, and God is helping me.

What’s an ideal income you think you should be earning right now?

₦2m/month. It would mean I can sort out my family’s needs without stress. But what I really want is a stable job. I’ve moved around too much.

What’s something you want right now but can’t afford?

My own apartment. I plan to work towards that during my service year. I can’t return to live with my mum if I want to set boundaries around my money.

How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?

6. I’m grateful for where I am. I’m still worried about the status of my jobs, but I plan to change my trajectory by interacting with my life as it is. By that, I mean understanding that my position is different and moving accordingly.

For instance, I often wished as a child that I were one of those kids whose parents had a nice house and generators. But the truth is that I’m not. So, I’ve decided to take life by the horns and work for my future.

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

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