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?
One I’ll always remember happened when I was 7 or 8. My mum was sick, so she sent me down the street to buy a bottle of 7Up. It was the first time she’d ever sent me on an errand outside. Our domestic help who handled these was running another errand.
I can’t remember exactly how much the bottle cost, but it wasn’t more than ₦100. My mum gave me the money and watched me from the balcony to make sure I got to the shop safely.
I don’t know how it happened, but when I got to the shop, I didn’t have the money anymore. I’d lost it on the way somehow. I got the beating of my life when I got back home.
I realised money was important enough to get that kind of reaction from my mum. I kept complaining to our help like, “Mummy beat me like that because of how much?”
Tell me more about your childhood. What were the finances like?
I grew up really comfortable. My mum was an accountant — think proper career woman — until she had my younger sister and switched to teaching, while my dad was a management consultant. I attended one of the best primary schools, and we had two cars.
Things changed in 2018 when I got into uni. My dad got sick and couldn’t work for years, which set us back. We sold the cars and several other things to meet bills and survive. We even changed churches because it became too expensive to bundle everyone in public transport and travel that distance. All the things my dad used to do for us, including random stipends and gifts at the end of a school term, stopped.
How did these changes impact you?
When I first entered 100 level, my mum put ₦100k into an account for me to withdraw gradually and cover my needs. She had access to the account, and when the balance was running low, she’d top it up. I hardly noticed when the account was low because she often topped it up.
However, when my dad’s sickness got serious and they started preparing for surgery, the automatic credits stopped. In fact, my mum started calling to question every withdrawal I made.
“What are you spending money on? Small small o, there’s no money o.”
That’s when it started to hit me that something was up. I went from going to the ATM to withdraw cash whenever I wanted to seeing “insufficient funds” and getting ₦3k – ₦5k weekly to survive.
School went on strike as I was rounding up 100 level, and I used that period to earn money.
Was that the first time you worked to earn money?
Oh no. The first time was in 2017, the year between finishing secondary school and getting into uni. I apprenticed with an event decorator/baker. Whenever my boss catered an event, she took us apprentices along to work as waitresses and paid us ₦1k or ₦2k. Those gigs came in about once every two or three months. Getting admitted to uni meant the end of that income source.
Now back to the strike.
I had free time, so I worked at a school as a teacher’s assistant, helping care for and feed the kids in kindergarten and nursery school. They paid me ₦4k/month for the three months I worked there. I stopped the job when the strike was called off.
₦4k per month is crazy
See, I wasn’t even expecting to get paid. The proprietress was the same woman I’d apprenticed with earlier in 2017. To be honest, I just worked at the school, so I wouldn’t stay at home doing nothing.
Growing up comfortable made me unbothered about making money, which was foolish because I had a lot to worry about. I guess it was because my parents tried their best to provide me with things I needed, so I had this mentality of, “Why should I be suffering myself? I’m fine.”
I used to do a lot of things for free. People would come to me asking for help baking something, and I’d literally tell them not to pay me. I’d be like, “Don’t worry. Just bring money for the materials.” Mumu me. Even the ₦4k I earned from the school was spent on foolish things like data and sweets. So, I wasn’t bothered about whether it was small or not.
Right. So you stopped the job after school resumed. Did you try anything else to make money?
I tried to join an ushering agency, but it didn’t work out. During the 2020 lockdown, I abandoned baking and decoration (which I didn’t even finish learning) to learn tailoring. My parents paid ₦25k for the training, which lasted about six or seven months before school resumed in March 2021.
Why the switch, though?
No reason. I was just no longer interested in baking. Even the tailoring, I didn’t finish learning it. When another ASUU strike happened in February 2022, I went back to tailoring for a bit. But by September, I got tired and decided to make money instead.
So, I started teaching at a school for ₦10k/month. I only worked there for two months because ASUU called off the strike. After completing my project and clearance in February 2023, I returned to work at the school. They increased my salary to ₦15k since I was technically a graduate. I worked there till July/August when I went for NYSC.
For my service year, I worked as an HR assistant at an electricity distribution company. They paid me ₦10k/month, and I also received the ₦33k allawee from NYSC. I completed my service in August 2024 and returned to work at the school after unsuccessfully job-hunting for a while. I thought, “Let me just be here to pass time.”
But I became comfortable and worked there from 2024 to March 2026. In fact, I officially stopped working on the 2nd of April, 2026.
Interesting. What was your income like at the school?
When I went back in 2024, I was earning ₦30k/month. In January 2025, I was made the school administrator/head teacher and got a salary bump to ₦32k. Then, in September 2025, I got another raise to ₦35k/month. That was what I earned till I left.
At some point in 2025, I gave private lessons to some students at the school, and my monthly income jumped to ₦80k. I think that was from February to July 2025. That stopped when the students left the school, and I went back to my ₦32k.
Why did you eventually leave?
I just started my master’s programme. My dad has been on my neck about it for a while, and I finally got around to it. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it through; I was just looking for a way to get out of my parents’ house.
The area we live in is very backward, and I don’t think one can really make any kind of progress in that place. The only way my parents would let me leave is if I went for my master’s or got a job that required me to leave. Since I wasn’t getting a job, the master’s was the next best thing. Then, I made the mistake of choosing a master’s in the education sector. I’ve been trying to get into HR or admin, and I should’ve chosen a course related to that.
So, I’m worried this might be a waste of time, but I figure it might not matter. I don’t necessarily have to study a related course to get an opportunity in HR.
Is the plan to job-hunt while studying?
Yes. I’m trying my best to get a job. I’m hoping for something remote right now because my master’s programme is putting me through a lot. I took a virtual assistance course in 2022, and I think I’ve been sleeping on it. People are making money with that. So, I’m hoping to land a virtual assistant gig.
Also, I know how to make beads. It’s one of the many skills I learned. I’m thinking of starting my bead-craft business, which I’ve been postponing for about 6 years now. If I can get enough capital, I can go to the market and see what materials I can get. I really want to start a business. I don’t even know why; it just sounds nice. Maybe if I have that, with a remote job that doesn’t interfere with classes, I can start changing my life.
How are you surviving right now without an income?
Well, I haven’t gotten to that stage yet, since I was paid before leaving my job. Right now, I have about ₦20k in my whole life. I don’t know where that will take me. I’m hoping I’ll have figured something out before it finishes. I know I’ll survive somehow. I’ve been broke before, and I didn’t die.
Do you have a safety net, though, just in case?
I would’ve said my savings, but I recently emptied them to rent an apartment for ₦150k. My parents are there, but I really hope I don’t have to call them. I’m sure they’re tired of me. I mean, they sponsored my fees and even tried to sort out hostel accommodation for me. Unfortunately, something happened to the accommodation, and we’re still trying to resolve it. I had to pay out of pocket in the meantime.
I’m really hoping to get motion within the next six months because no be only me dem born. I need to figure things out. God abeg.
How would you describe your relationship with money?
Money feels like something that’s very far from me, and I’ve felt this way for the last year or two. I know I’m part of the problem, and I have underlying issues that only God can save me from.
What kind of issues?
Everyone wants to make money, right? But I don’t have that push. I can sit down today and imagine all the moves I want to make, but I don’t follow through.
For instance, take this beads business I’ve been putting off. Once in 2020, I was so broke that I decided I couldn’t keep going that way. I got fired up and decided to start the business immediately, whether I had a good phone for pictures or not. I entered the market with my last ₦3k or ₦4k and bought materials to make a beaded bag. People in the hostel saw me making it and kept dropping compliments.
I finished making that bag and only posted it once on Nairaland. After that day, I forgot I had any motion to start a beads business. That bag is still in my house today. The following year, I got “fired up” again, but I still didn’t follow through. I get episodes of high motivation like that. I’ll buy beads and start making them all over the house. My family will be like, “Okay, maybe this time will work.” Still, nothing. I’ll just find one excuse: if it’s not my phone not being good enough for pictures, it’s that the background is not fine for the content.
In 2023, after another self-talk and motivation nonsense, I disturbed my parents to get me a laptop. I told them I wanted to learn data analytics, that it’s “remote work that is reigning now.” They got me the laptop in two weeks. I was serious about learning for the first three months, then I dropped it.
I picked it up again in 2024 and learned Excel, SQL, and Tableau. I even opened a Twitter account dedicated to documenting my learning process, but I didn’t follow through.
Hmm
That’s why I say I’m my own problem. I’m always jumping from pillar to post. I’ve learned everything from crocheting to catering and tailoring. Upon all, nothing.
It’s somehow because my parents always pay for these things. I can just tell them one new thing, and they’re ready to support me without asking questions.
So yeah, I have a problem that I need to tackle first. Because if not, all this mouth I’m making about starting my bead business this year might follow the same pattern.
I struggle with execution. Because motivation? E plenty die. I also have lots of business ideas. I’ve motivated many of my friends and given them business ideas, and they’re flourishing. But to apply the same thing to my life is a problem. Maybe I just don’t know how to leave my comfort zone.
People say identifying the problem is the first step to solving it. Do you think accepting your struggles might change anything?
I don’t think so. This is something I’ve known about myself for like three years now, but the realisation has done nothing for me. Maybe it’s deliverance I need at this point.
Let’s talk about your typical monthly expenses. What do they look like?
I spend more than my salary every month, and I honestly don’t know how. To be fair, students’ parents often dashed me money, so that helped. Now that I no longer teach, the “free money” will reduce. That’s one thing I’ll miss about teaching.
You mentioned some savings which you used for accommodation earlier. I’m curious; do you have a specific approach to savings?
It’s not consistent. I typically save whenever I get extra money. A big part of the ₦150k savings came from some money my dad gave me for clearance last month. I didn’t use it all, so I kept some. Then, when someone dashes me money, I sometimes save it. In January, I started a ₦200 daily savings plan on an app, but it only lasted that month. Now, I just save when I can.
Is there an ideal amount of money you think you should be earning monthly right now?
Honestly, there’s no amount I think I deserve right now because I don’t think I have the skill set to demand money. Maybe if I were still teaching, I’d say ₦250k would be ideal. At least, it’s not too much for a school administrator.
You don’t consider your several vocational skills as skills?
Well, I didn’t really learn them to make money. They were just side quests. For instance, with tailoring, I just liked fashion and looking nice, so I was watching DIY YouTube videos and making clothes with a needle and thread. My dad noticed and said I should just learn to use the machine. That’s why I did it. I honestly have too many interests to focus on one.
Gotcha. What about something you want right now but can’t afford?
My phone. If I finally start my beads business — maybe the 10th attempt will be the charm — I’ll need a good phone for content. I would need at least ₦400k for that.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?
2. At my big age, I should be doing more. Where I am right now is a horrible place to be. I need to put my head in the game and lock in. Because how hard is it really to make money? I’m sure it’d be easier if I weren’t jumping from one thing to another all the time.
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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