The Nigerian experience is physical, emotional, and sometimes international. No one knows it better than our features on #TheAbroadLife, a series where we detail and explore Nigerian experiences while living abroad.
Oba* (34) gave up a six-figure salary and a fancy apartment in Lekki to start his life from scratch in the UK. In this story, he shares why he has no regret paying off a £27,000 MBA debt in return for a life free of Nigerian struggles.
Where do you live presently, and when did you move out of Nigeria?
I left Nigeria in 2021 and live in the United Kingdom now.
What motivated your move?
Honestly, I just wanted a better life. Here’s the thing: back in 2019, a few of my uni friends were getting married. One was having her wedding in Nigeria, but lived in the US. So, all my other friends came in from the US and UK for the wedding, and I thought, “If my brother decides to do his wedding in South Africa today, I probably won’t be able to afford to go. And even if I manage to go, when I come back, I’ll be drinking garri for six months straight.” At that moment, I knew I had to leave.
So, I decided that I would leave in 2020, but then COVID came and scattered all my plans. That’s why I eventually left in 2021.
Thanks for sharing that. What was your life like in Nigeria?
Before I left in 2021, I already had two degrees, one from the US and another from the UK. I was living in one of the fanciest sides of Lekki.
I was earning about ₦750k monthly at the time, so I was comfortable. To the average Nigerian, it looked like I was living the dream. But it didn’t feel that way to me.
You mentioned schooling in the US and the UK. Why did you come back to Nigeria in the first place?
It was supposed to be a quick move that started and ended with NYSC—at least, that’s what my parents said.
My brother came back to Nigeria, too, but he returned to the UK, got a job, and everything was fine. Like me, he studied in Nigeria, too. I also knew plenty of people who studied abroad, returned for NYSC, did their one year, and then left again. That motivated me to come back, but my stay ended up lasting longer than a year.
How come?
Honestly, it just kind of happened. But staying in Nigeria for as long as I did just solidified my decision to return to the UK.
Gotcha. How were you able to return to the UK?
I went back to School because it was the fastest way out. I also felt that pursuing an MBA was the next practical thing to do with my eight years of work. It just felt like the most practical escape route, so I went for it.
What was it like moving back to the UK, since you’d lived there before?
It was super smooth for me. I’d lived here before, my brothers live here, and I have friends here. It wasn’t my first rodeo.
I’ve lived in four countries — the US, Dubai, Nigeria, and the UK. And by “lived,” I mean lived, not just visited. I’ve basically covered everywhere except Australia and South America. So relocating wasn’t a big deal for me. I settled in easily without any issues.
Did the UK meet your expectations, considering you lived quite well in Nigeria?
Absolutely. No matter how much you have in Nigeria, you’ll still need a generator. You’ll still be stressing over nonsense. Your brainpower will be spent on things like, “Did I refill the generator?” “Is the mechanic coming today?” “My car just started making that same noise again.”
You’ll waste so much energy trying to survive instead of progressing. I don’t listen to Nigerians who complain about the UK.
Before I left, I worked full-time for a tech startup in Nigeria and had a remote job in the UK. But no matter how much I earned in Nigeria, it still wasn’t enough once I converted it to pounds.
When I moved here, the naira was ₦691 to £1. Now it’s over ₦2,100. That’s almost a 300% increase in just four years.
The naira devaluation almost cost me my admission when applying for my MBA. Between when they gave me my offer and when I tried to pay my fees, the naira had dropped by 47%. I emailed them to renegotiate my scholarship because of the exchange rate, and they almost revoked my offer. The MBA director later told me she thought I was lying because a 47% devaluation in six months sounded impossible. It wasn’t until they started seeing news about Nigeria’s forex crisis that she realised I wasn’t lying.
That’s insane. Can you share some of your biggest highlights since moving to the UK?
One of my biggest wins was paying off my MBA. The program cost £50,000. Thankfully, I got a scholarship of £22,500, but that still left me with £27,500 to pay myself. That wasn’t small money, especially in 2021. I had to keep working remotely with that Nigerian tech startup and take another job here to raise the funds. But I paid it off before graduation. I graduated in September 2022, and by then, I’d cleared everything.
Getting a job here, passing all those online exams, meeting my wife, and getting married were also major highlights.
Did you experience any culture shocks when you moved back?
Not really. I was born in the UK, so there isn’t anything that surprises me about this place. I didn’t stay in the UK because my parents didn’t sort out my British citizenship before taking me back to Nigeria. The UK has interesting immigration laws that make these things tough. I can’t blame my parents for that mistake because they did their best.
Fair enough. Since you mentioned immigration laws earlier, what’s your take on the UK immigration restrictions?
I wouldn’t outright discourage anyone from coming here. I’d still advise you to come if you have a solid job offer with visa sponsorship. But studying here is no longer the easy relocation route it used to be. It’s ten times harder to get a job after studying, especially if you’re not in tech or finance. You’ll likely find work if you’re a software engineer, product manager, or in investment banking or auditing. But it’ll be extremely hard if you’re doing HR, marketing, or other soft disciplines.
That’s interesting. On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you in the UK?
I would say a 10.5! Look, I won’t lie. I miss wearing shorts and walking around freely in the sun. I miss seeing my siblings and friends regularly— we barely see each other now, maybe once every one or two years— but I wouldn’t trade my peace of mind here for anything.
I don’t see myself retiring in the UK, but won’t return to Nigeria. When you leave Nigeria, you realise how much space you have in your mind to think clearly about your life. That’s when you realise how much you were suffering before.
I’m not rich here either because I make around £50k yearly, which is slightly above average in London, but I’m comfortable.
I’m happy with my life here, and I know it’ll only get better if I keep working hard.
Do you want to share your Abroad Life story? Please reach out to me here. For new episodes of Abroad Life, check in every Friday at 12 PM (WAT).
