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.
When did you first realise the importance of money?
2019, after my dad died. Money suddenly became a subject that affected me. First, I had to leave the boarding school for day school because it was cheaper. I was in SS 2.
I hated the change so much. While my former school was girls-only, my new school was mixed and I didn’t like having boys in my class. But it was a necessary change.
My mum was now solely responsible for me and my nine siblings, so more changes followed.
What kind of changes?
We went from three meals a day to one, and public buses became our means of transportation. It was a complete shift from the comfort we enjoyed when my dad was alive; his publishing company delivered monthly devotionals to church parishes nationwide, so he always had work.
My dad handled most of his publishing operations and business dwindled after he died. So, we relied on what my mum made from her computer centre. I also started working there while I was still in secondary school.
After I graduated in 2020, I moved on to work at a POS office. My salary was supposed to be ₦9k/month, but it didn’t come regularly. I stayed because my boss was nice. Maybe it was Stockholm Syndrome or perhaps I just wanted a father figure.
I see. But the irregular salary, though…
Fortunately, I stumbled on content writing gigs in August 2021 and found a side income source in them. For context, I’ve been writing short books as a pastime since I was 8. I didn’t think about monetising the skill until a Facebook friend posted a job opening for a blog writer.
I sent an application, and he sent me a sample article to work on before I got the job. The pay was ₦1/word, and my first gig fetched me ₦9k, which I gave my mum. The following month, I worked on 22 articles and made ₦22k. Most of the articles were 1k words, so I made ₦1k per article.
By this time, I was so excited that I could do something other than working at a POS shop. This knowledge drove me to want more. On December 31, 2021, I left the POS job to become a full-time content writer. The idea was to start the new year with a new resolution and outlook.
How did that go?
Not great at first. Job hunting was more difficult than I expected, and when I didn’t get a job after the first few months, I started second-guessing myself.
I still had the regular client who paid me ₦1k per article, but I wanted to scale past ₦20k – ₦40k per month. So, I applied for jobs on Facebook and LinkedIn like my life depended on them.
Although I found another client who paid ₦2 per word, I worked with him for only two months. I grew uncomfortable when he started making advances at me.
I survived on ₦1/word gigs for the rest of 2022. Then I hit my first big break in 2023.
Oooh. Tell me more
A client I found on LinkedIn offered me ₦500k to write 20 articles for his faith-based blog. After the first set of 20 articles, he renewed the contract for another 20 articles at ₦500k. The whole project lasted six months, and the payment came in tranches.
Most of the money went into paying black tax. My mum has been trying to revive my dad’s publishing business, but it’s not working. Her computer centre also closed down some years ago, so I’ve been financially responsible for my mum and siblings.
Phew. First born responsibilities?
I’m actually the seventh. My older siblings aren’t in positions where they can provide. Two have passed away, two have medical conditions and also need financial support, and one only earns enough to provide for his wife and kids.
Then I have three younger siblings whom I have to care for. I pay their fees and chip in for necessities and other miscellaneous expenses. A good chunk of the ₦1m went into paying their school fees and my mum’s treatment — she was ill at the time.
After that gig, I started landing clients on LinkedIn consistently, and my monthly income grew to ₦200k – ₦500k. In May 2024, just before I turned 22, I made my first ₦1m in one month. I’ve maintained that momentum since — I even made up to ₦2m in December.
Energy. Are these figures still from writing blog posts?
I primarily write blog posts, but I do a little bit of everything: product descriptions, listicles, product reviews, and scripts for tutorial videos. Most of my gigs come from LinkedIn.
I’ve tried diversifying into other career paths, specifically data science and virtual executive assistance. But writing is my money maker and therefore takes all my time. Honestly, writing has sort of lost its thrills for me, and I feel like I need to move on to more exciting things. Also, I realised I’ve never learned a skill. So, I want to move on to fields that require me to learn new things and apply myself intellectually.
Is this where executive assistance and data science come in?
Yes. Executive assistance is a natural position for me. I enjoy being the person in the shadows who makes things happen. An executive assistant role would be perfect for me to provide leadership without being in the limelight.
I’ve been trying to create a brand as an executive assistant (EA) on LinkedIn, but I haven’t gotten any clients. Most EA roles are onsite, and the virtual roles are mostly virtual assistants. I think they are entirely different positions. EAs provide administrative support to C-level executives while VAs can be personal assistants to solopreneurs.
That said, executive assistance is just the immediate role I want to move to when I completely switch from writing. My 10-year plan is to become a security data scientist or threat intelligence analyst abroad. I’ve started devoting four hours daily to study free data science courses. At this rate, I should be ready to apply for internship or entry-level positions by December and become a fairly decent data scientist in two years.
Sounds like a well thought-out plan
I even had ChatGPT create a roadmap of what I need to achieve my goals. It looks doable, and I plan to make it happen.
I recently let go of a client who brought me about ₦500k – ₦600k in monthly income because I wanted more time to devote to my data science aspirations. The gig with the client was a daily writing contract, which took too much of my time.
Right now, I only have one client who assigns me 15-20 articles weekly at $10-$12 apiece. My income from this client ranges between $700 – $800 at the end of the month, which is about ₦1m – ₦1.2m.
I’m currently jobhunting for another client to give me a similar batch work volume because ₦1m can’t sustain my responsibilities.
About those responsibilities. How does it feel navigating so much black tax at such a young age?
I think God did me an injustice by taking my father, some of my siblings and then leaving my elder siblings with medical conditions. Maybe it’s for the best because I doubt I’d be this resilient if my father were still alive.
My income has grown so much in just two years, and I should be excited and grateful, but it feels like I’m on a downward spiral. I didn’t have this many responsibilities when I earned ₦1k per article. Now, I’m always aware of how much there is to do and I just want to make more money.
My younger siblings will soon enter university. One will enroll this year, and the other two will move next year. I need to be prepared for that. My medically impaired sister will have a baby soon, and I want to set up a business for her and my mother.
My mother is still trying to keep my father’s publishing company running, but it doesn’t make a profit. So I bankroll it with about ₦100k – ₦150k monthly. I think we’re resistant to letting go because it’s the one thing we still have of my dad.
I understand that
Besides the typical black tax expenses like feeding, paying school fees and caring for my siblings, I currently have two major projects taking my money.
I’ve been renovating our house for a few months. It gets flooded when it rains and the rooms aren’t in great condition. I’ve spent about ₦2m on it so far, and the rooms and floors still need a lot of work. I hope to finish by May or June.
I’m also building a four-bedroom house in Nasarawa. My sister lives there and wanted me to have a physical investment so she made me start the project. I bought a plot of land for ₦1m in January and sent my sister ₦500k to start building in February.
I don’t know what has been done on the site, but I should visit in a few weeks to see the progress. I plan to set aside ₦700k for the building every month and complete it by December. After that, I’ll put it out for rent. Completing the house should cost between ₦5m – ₦10m. Maybe closer to ₦10m. See why I need to increase my income.
I’m getting the impression your family knows how much you earn?
They have an idea, but I stopped giving them the exact figures after I crossed ₦1m. It’s just a way for me to exercise more discretion regarding how much help I can offer. Once I get them settled with businesses, I can afford to indulge my desires and wants.
Right now, though, my desires take a back seat because of my responsibilities. The last time I indulged myself was between October 2024 and January 2025 when I paid someone ₦400k to make me about 40 outfits. I still feel intensely guilty about that.
Out of curiosity, do you ever resent your responsibilities?
Not really. I love my mum. She’s the most important person to me in the whole world, and my love for her outweighs the pressure of the responsibilities. That said, I’m nursing the idea of moving out of our house to a different city. I’ve always wanted to live in the city, but I can’t do that guilt-free without setting my family up.
My medically impaired sister, who lives nearby, needs a business that requires someone else to be there while she supervises. So, I’m considering two gas retail shops. They should cost between ₦1.5m – ₦2m to set up. I’ve enrolled my younger brother in a graphics class that cost me ₦40k. I intend to sponsor the others to learn skills, too.
For my mum, I’m considering restarting her computer centre or setting up a large-scale food storage business since we live in the Middle Belt. That should cost about ₦5m. If I set up all these businesses this year, I can comfortably do something significant for myself. I just need to figure out how to get my money up and meet these expenses.
Speaking of, what does your typical month in expenses look like?
I think it’s fair to say 80% of my income goes into providing for my family. I have some savings, though. In November 2024, I saved ₦300k, then I did ₦500k in December and January. I’ve put the full ₦1.3m in crypto.
A friend is trading it on my behalf — he does degen trading and estimates my investment will grow to ₦2.5m this month. I don’t know exactly what coin he’s trading in, but I trust him.
I might also increase my monthly budget for the new building. My 2025 goal is to increase my earning power to ₦10m/month. If I meet that goal, I can increase my monthly building budget to ₦1m.
Do you have plans in place for that ₦10m/month goal?
I recently took a course on high ticket closing and I want to actively explore how that can be a viable income source. I can find clients on LinkedIn and Upwork and make money through commissions.
I also want to expand my writing services to something like an agency so I can train new people to take some gigs for me. If I can also land an executive assistant gig while still making time to upgrade my data science, I should get up to ₦10m in no time.
Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?
Definitely my own apartment. Last I checked, it’ll cost me around ₦8m to rent and furnish a two-bedroom apartment in my desired city. I’d also like a car. A small decent one should cost around ₦12m. I can’t work towards either until I set my family up and increase my earning power.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?
4. I can’t buy anything right now without extensively planning and weighing the pros and cons. I have a book where I arrange needs according to priority. I will be happier the day I can indulge without worrying, cross off all the needs on that priority list and finally get rid of the book.
If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.
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