With the way Nigeria’s economy is moving like the snake that ate ₦38m, everyone needs to hold down at least two jobs to survive. And companies shouldn’t be left out.
Airtel should start making movies
Based on the quality of commercials they put out, it won’t be too much of an ask for them to venture into filmmaking and give us the full-length version of this teaser they dropped all those years ago.
GT Bank should start planning events
They should give us more events, so we can stay outside every weekend, spending all the money we don’t have.
Play Network Studios should open a film museum
We’re not saying they should stop the remakes. All we’re saying is we can see how passionate they are about old Nollywood. They need to share that passion with the younger generation in new ways. Also, we need new social activities in this country. They should help us all.
Gala should start selling gadget cases
They need to stop producing gala and move into a more profitable venture, like selling phones, earbuds, laptops and tablet cases. The gala they make now is just a casing for the tiny ass sausage inside, so they have all the experience they need.
Deloitte should start counting everything
If counting BBN votes can go so smoothly, imagine how seamless elections and national census would be if we outsourced to them. They’d surely do better than Mr Yakubu.
Photo credit: Falz via Youtube
Hypo should start making school supplies
Hypo go wipe o shouldn’t just be for clothes and surfaces. If they’re really serious about their slogan, then they should also be able to wipe out our mistakes — or at least, start a new line of erasers.
Nasco should start producing plastic chairs and table
The way Nasco cereal tastes like plastic and takes two working days to dissolve in any liquid, I’d say they’re already one foot into the plastic production business. Nigerians host a shit ton of events, so if they fully get into plastic furniture, their pockets will never run dry.
Speaking of events, Zikoko’s hosting a women-only party for all the hottest women out there, don’t miss it.
A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Become a Quickteller Paypoint Agent
In Nigeria today, 70% of people now have a side hustle to increase their sources of income. There are cases of Bankers who sell shoes on Instagram, Office Receptionists who run online skincare businesses, and restaurant owners who have POS kiosks just in front of their shops.
These side hustles are not new to us, our social media platforms have become a full-blown marketplace, and we are loving it.
One profitable Side hustle most entrepreneurs venture into now is the Agency Banking Business. You will see a Barber who also runs a POS Business or someone who has a shop in a busy market area who has a “POS is AvailableHere” banner in front of her shop.
Agency banking is a profitable business when you use a dependable partner like Quickteller Paypoint. And there are many benefits of becoming a Quickteller Paypoint agent; from daily transactional profits, to agent training, to fast and reliable POS machines, and branded Quickteller Paypoint kiosk with the merchandise.
That’s not all. As a Quickteller Paypoint Agent, you also have access to affordable insurance that covers your business and your health. Quickteller Paypoint cares about their Agent’s life and the continuity of the Agent’s Business.
So, if you are looking to start a POS business or want to add a side business to what you are currently doing, follow these steps to get started.
To become a Quickteller Paypoint Agent, you need the following registration requirements:
A physical office location/shop.
Any smartphone operating on Android OS (4.4 and above) or internet-enabled laptop/computer
A copy of a valid ID card (e.g., National Id card, Voters’ card, Driver’s license, or International Passport)
A copy of your utility bill for verification of your location/shop address (e.g., PHCN bill, Government water or waste bill, recent stamped bank account statement)
A copy of your passport photograph
A copy of your Guarantors completed Character Confirmation Form with your guarantors’ passport photograph
Zero minimum start-up capital is required. However, you will need to fund your Quickteller Paypoint wallet to commence transactions
And that’s all.
Join over 39,000 Quickteller Paypoint Agents across the 36 states and federal Capital Territory now.
Life happens. We all go through moments that are not our best days. But you can live in a way that you’re well protected no matter what happens. Live confidently above the challenges of life with a Stanbic IBTC Life Insurance plan.
Let’s face it. Ordinary is boring, but you can go for the extraordinary with a juicy pension plan that rewards your hustle today so you can retire early and still ball hard. Start by moving your pension to Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers today.
We can’t say we’re about the money and not help you find the money.
So we’ve compiled a list of job opportunities for you. Make sure you share this with anyone who might need it because we look out for each other in this community.
In May 2021, just as the world was getting out of the funk caused by months of lockdown and inactivity, Seyi Akomolafe found herself in an interesting position. After sitting at home for months and applying for fashion internship roles around Lagos, the 18-year-old finally got an offer, the problem was, she needed to work for free. “Job hunting in Nigeria is an extreme sport and I was excited to finally get one,” she tells Zikoko. “Did my heart sink when I saw it was an unpaid internship role? Yes. But it was from a designer I admired, so I took it.”
Following two “grueling” months at her job, Seyi eventually quit. Why did she leave such an incredible work opportunity? “Well, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was a slave. I thought passion was enough, but I was tapping into my savings and getting very little [knowledge] in return.”
Unpaid internships in the creative sector are as common as the shade and drama the sector constantly feeds the internet. We’ve all seen it in play out before, either in real life or in the movies; A young, passionate intern runs errands and performs tasks for their boss in exchange for lucrative knowledge and exposure in a glamorous field, such as filmmaking, fashion, public relations, or the magazine industry. Through all of this, the intern is not given actual financial remuneration, just experience, a couple of celebrity sightings (if they’re lucky), and vibes. The employer, on the other hand, gets the benefit of services while minimizing costs.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s population stands at over 200million with its youth claiming over 40% of this figure. The recent success of Nigeria’s creative scene ranging from music to film production and fashion have led to a proliferation of job seekers looking to break into the sector. As of today, the entertainment sector is the second highest employer of labour in Nigeria after agriculture. In this day and age of social media, everyone knows someone who’s either already a creative or working towards becoming one. The numbers are insane.
As interest continues to grow, structured job and internship opportunities are struggling to meet up. But why do we even need internships in the first place? Why not start something small on your own and work your way up? While internships are an imperative part of the industry, there are thousands of Nigerians creating art on their own without training from experienced people in the industry. However, according to Hassan, a Lagos-based editor who preferred to remain anonymous, “It’s easier said than done.”
Hassan’s entry into Nollywood wasn’t easy. He remembers having to juggle two lives at the beginning, one as an unpaid editing assistant and the other as a digital marketer. After years of working his way up, Hassan has become one of the most in-demand editors in Lagos, a feat he attributes to his early unpaid days. “Just like most things in Nigeria, Nollywood is about connection,” he explains. “I knew how to edit from watching tutorials online, but I needed a way to get myself through the door and being an ‘assistant’ provided that opportunity. What’s the point of having a skill if you can’t use it? I had to find a way to hack it because my passion came first.”
Although most of these internships are unpaid, they still demand just as much as full-time paying jobs. Due to the time-consuming tasks, most interns find it hard to take up other paying side-gigs that could actually fund their lives. Young Nigerians these days have to weigh their options carefully, choosing between their dreams and a job that foots the bill. More often than not, they are forced to walk away, just like Seyi. Because of this, internship opportunities tend to be limited to those who come from privileged backgrounds and are willing to work for free.
Pat Ada Eze is a popular image consultant and stylist to stars like Ayra Starr, Ladipoe, and Johnny Drille. Starting as an intern herself, Pat tells Zikoko, “I think unpaid internships are the worst. I have never done it and I don’t think anyone should do it.” With a successful business of her own, she reveals that she pays all her interns no matter how small the budget is. When the budget is too limited to pay, she does all the work herself. On how unpaid internships affect the industry, she explains that while she’s never really thought about it, she can imagine it “blocking the dreams of people who come from less-privileged backgrounds.”
Times are changing in countries like America. Over the past few years, unpaid interns from different projects have held the country’s creative scene under siege. Lawsuits demanding minimum wage and overtime have been filed against Fox Searchlight, Bad Boy Entertainment, publications like Vogue, the New Yorker, and Vanity Fair. But with Nigeria lacking structure legally and creatively, is this even a possibility? “We haven’t gotten justice for cases of misappropriated funds, election fraud, or even sexual assault,” Seyi explains. “There’s no way it’ll work for interns? We are all hustling and we’ll continue to hustle.”
A Week In The Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.
The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is a social media influencer with over 100k followers on social media. They talk to us about remaining anonymous despite their fame, undercharging for their services and the anxiety that comes with the job.
MONDAY:
The first thought on my mind when I wake up today is that if I didn’t have to work to earn a living, I’d probably not be doing my day job. I only show up because of the money.
Left to me, I’d spend my time living out my imaginations. Instead, I have to pretend like I’m normal and resume every day at a 9-5. During the day I’m the team lead at a digital media startup. At night, I’m a wildling on my personal account with over 100k followers on Twitter, [a little] less than 100k on Instagram and a newsletter with almost 10k subscribers.
My day job stresses me because of how professional it is. As someone with a wild imagination, I don’t find it fun. At work, I want to replicate ideas from the playbook of my personal account but every idea is met with “consider the brand image.”
Even on my personal account, when brands reach out, they like what they see but still always decide to play it safe.
Over time, this pushback has made my personal account the only place I can write the things I enjoy. I love the fact that my thoughts have a home and a receptive audience. What I don’t like is that it doesn’t generate enough money to survive and hence the need for a double life.
This afternoon I got a message that triggered me. Someone came to my DM telling me to always run my content by a team so I can know whether it’s good or bad. For someone who spends all day running content by people at my day job, I was like nope. I thought, “my personal account works because it’s 100% out of pocket and unfiltered me.”
Once I start running content by people, it’s no longer me. And if an idea doesn’t work, I’m going to blame myself for running it by another person. However, as a solo creator, I’m free to experiment as I like.
One of my biggest fears is getting to the point where I no longer recognize my work. With that resolve, I replied to the message: “thank you very much for the advice. I’ll look into it.”
TUESDAY:
No one knows what I look like. At least not the bulk of my followers; my day ones have seen my face. Initially, I decided to be anonymous because the more content I put out, the bigger my personal account got. And I was tired of people saying my face didn’t match my writing whenever they landed on my page, so I removed all my photos. However, over time, anonymity became a necessity for me.
At first, I realised I was insecure about my looks so I decided to grow into them without external influence. I didn’t want to post a picture and have people validate my looks. Next, I thought it was cool to be in the shadows on social media where everyone is constantly putting their face or business out there.
The upside? On good days, like today, I have at least 20 people in my DM begging to know what I look like. People pleading and swearing, earnestly, on their parents’ lives that they won’t share my photos. My answer? “No, I’m not sending.” Although, listening to people beg is like doing drugs because of how intoxicating and powerful it feels. It also helps that I’m aware of the power I hold so I tease and draw out people’s curiosity as much as I can. Some days I’ll post a picture of just my hand or my legs. Other days, I’ll post a full photo of me but covered with a smiley or with my face blurred out. It’s so much fun!
The only downside of enjoying anonymity is that I don’t cash out. If someone with my level of influence who shows their face goes out, they’d receive favours I wouldn’t receive, mostly because they’re famous. But no one knows me. Even if I told them I was the person behind my account, they wouldn’t believe it. Therefore, I’d beg for things I ordinarily wouldn’t have to beg for if I showed my face.
However, the peace of mind from being anonymous is sufficient for me. There’s no pressure for me to keep up appearances or put on a show — and I love that for me.
WEDNESDAY:
Today makes it three days since I last posted on my Twitter account. My mental health is shit, my anxiety is at an all-time high and my self-esteem is at the lowest. Yay.
As a creator with a large following, sooner or later the pressure gets to you. You’re always thinking about numbers: how many retweets did this post get, how many likes, how many quotes? Who shared it? Was it reposted on Instagram and WhatsApp statuses? This obsession puts pressure on you to create fun stuff for the audience so you rush your process. Then it doesn’t bang. Now the numbers are bad and you feel like shit because low numbers are bad for your brand’s business. It’s twice as bad because you can see how other creator’s content are banging in real-time. After a while, doubt starts to creep in.
But when your content bangs —my God! You feel unstoppable. God now help you that you’re on a roll. The type where you tweet the most random thing and it bangs. You quote a tweet and you get 4k retweets. Your reply to a tweet gets 2k likes. That kind of constant real-time validation and gratification is a drug you become addicted to.
As someone who has recently come down from that high, the lows are dealing with me. I’m thinking about how my retweets gradually started reducing from 4,000 to 2,000 to 1,000 and then 500 on a good day. I think reality fully hit me when I got to 500. At that point, it was as if I was relocating from Banana Island to Ikorodu and that affected me badly.
It has taken some affirmations to slowly climb out of it. Every day I remind myself that my worth as a human being is not tied to whether or not my tweets bang. Regardless of what happens, I’m still the same person. I’m still that talented person with room for growth.
In the long term, I know this will pull me out of my mental and emotional chokehold. However, short term, my strategy is to keep avoiding my stressors — most especially Twitter.
THURSDAY:
People always ask me if being an influencer is profitable. The answer is both yes and no. If you’re like me that charged two thousand naira for my first advert, you’re already doing it wrong. Mind you, I had 5,000 followers then. When I got to almost 10k followers I increased my rate to ₦10,000 for adverts.
Every time someone paid me I’d promise to deliver the best work of their life. Looking back, I realise that at every follower milestone I’d increase my rates but still did not make bank.
It wasn’t until today that I realised the reason for my weird relationship with money. The pay at the first company I worked for was shitty so I thought I deserved shit. I was being paid around ₦50,000 to make 90 content items in a month. In my head, ₦10,000 per content item promotion was a good deal for me. And this is how I approached my rates as my follower count grew.
With money, I’m just reaching a point where I can charge the least I deserve, especially for someone at my level of influence. It has taken me months of talking with many people to see that I don’t deserve to earn shit.
Later today, I’ll test out my new resolution on a client I’m talking to. I’m going to multiply my current rate by two. If I die, I die, but I’m no longer accepting rubbish. Thank you very much!
Influencing can be mad profitable if you maximise the opportunities you get. But it’s also short-lived. If you don’t reinvent yourself, another person will come up, do what you’re doing and take your spot.
FRIDAY:
I finally posted on Twitter today. It wasn’t my best work but I’ll take it like that. I’m trying to show up regardless of how I feel. The more work I put out, the more I increase the probability of something clicking.
It’s just difficult shaking off the feeling that it’s been a while since my content surprised people and that’s messing with me. This weekend, I plan to explore new content formats, think up possible collaborations with fellow creatives, and maybe even consider publishing a book.
I hate how creativity can be so hard yet so simple, but I won’t give up. I’ll cry when I need to cry and laugh when it comes.
I know that there’s potential in the business and I’m going to tap into it. One thing I know is that the first step to blowing is knowing your worth. A lot of people think I have money but I don’t because it has taken so long to realise my worth. If you see yourself as trash, this industry is not kind and will treat you accordingly.
Thankfully, things are changing for me. My goal right now is to earn enough from influencing gigs so I can quit my day job. If I play my cards right that day could come sooner than expected. Until then, my plan for today is to open Slack and dance to the tunes of my capitalist employer.
I can’t wait for today to end.
Check back every Tuesday by 9 am for more “A Week In The Life ” goodness, and if you would like to be featured or you know anyone who fits the profile, fill this form.
Almost everyone has a side hustle in Nigeria. They are a must when you live in a country that is constantly trying to kill you. Here are 10 side hustles that will make living a little easier.
1. Cultural dancer
This job requires skills that not everybody has, it’s not easy to keep people entertained for a long time so if you can’t do that don’t even consider this side hustle in Nigeria. Become a cultural dancer so you can blow off the frustration from working an annoying 9-5. You might not be shaking your ass in a yacht, but you’ll be shaking it where they can spray you money.
2. Family disappointment
It’s not easy to be the family disappointment but someone has to do it. Gather all your siblings and cousins, set up a fee they can pay monthly so that they can finally get that septum piercing or tattoo they want but can’t get until you get one, and their parents can just label you the bad influence. Don’t waste your talent.
You after you get paid.
3. Instagram skit maker
Do you know how much Instagram skit makers earn? A lot, that’s how much. Instead of wasting your time being the unpaid funny friend in your friend group, put your talent to good use. Do your mates have two heads?
Yes, it is.
4. Money doubler
There is no glory in scamming people and your destination is hell for sure, but if someone is greedy enough to want to double the small money they have through magic, they deserve whatever they get. If they arrest you sha please don’t mention Zikoko.
5. Professional clown
If most of your friends have your contact saved as ‘clown’ on their phones, then this job is for you. You are not a stranger to embarrassment and you have since gotten used to it. Fear not, we have a solution. You can accept people’s embarrassment on their behalf for a small fee. Help someone break up with her boyfriend, accept someone’s quit notice on their behalf, small things like that.
6. Professional girlfriend
Or if you want to be posh, you can call yourself an escort. If one of your best qualities is that you are a really good girlfriend even though they still break up with you, you should take this job. You never know, you might even find love but then again… this is Nigeria, you will more likely be kidnapped.
7. Professional sugar baby
This is one of the most lucrative side hustles in Nigeria, and it doesn’t interfere with any other job you have. If you are committed to a life of enjoyment, this is the job for you. Just know that there is no such thing as a sugar baby that doesn’t give sugar.
8. Playlist creator
If you have ever been in a situation where your ex asked you to help them make a playlist for their current partner, first of all, pele. Secondly, that’s just proof that you have good taste. Rise, don’t let your talent waste, stop making playlists for free.
9. Semo-taster
This one is a dangerous Side hustle no one has mastered, but at least when you have food poisoning from eating Semo, you can take several days off work.
Why will you be jobless when there are so many things you can do? Take this quiz and find out which side hustle fits you.
If you’ve been reading this every Monday, you know the drill at this point. If you haven’t, now you know that Zikoko talks to anonymous people every week about their relationship with the Naira.
Sometimes, it will be boujee, other times, it will be struggle-ish. But all the time–it’ll be revealing.
When was the first time you made money?
After school, before NYSC. I was working at a car management company, and I was the data management person. ₦15k every month–10 actually, but the MD liked me, so he was giving me extra 5k. This was in 2011, and I did that for 5 months.
It was a boring job, my goodness. But yeah, 15k was not a lot, but I didn’t have to give anyone. I don’t even know what I used the money to do, because I couldn’t account for anything that happened in that era.
Were you getting an extra allowance from home?
After school? No. I mean, if I needed anything, my parents would, you know, sort it out. But there had to be a need. We were not very well-to-do at the time–not comfortable enough to be giving you money based on “Oh I want money.”
“What’s wrong with you?” my mum will be like “me too I want money.”
NYSC came and I was earning 5k, plus NYSC salary, as a teacher in a Secondary School. I started service in 2012.
At the time, my older brother was sending me money every other month. There wasn’t a pattern, but he was helping out–5k here, 10k there, 20k later. So that helped a lot.
But then, I was still sending money home to my parents, 5k. Not for them to use it for anything per se, but just so they could know I was doing something.
Girls just tend to send money home. When parents say they want someone that will take care of them when they’re old, they tend to mean girl children.
Post NYSC?
All through 2013, Life happened to me, so I had to go live with my brother. He was giving me like 5k every other week. I was living in his house and I wasn’t going anywhere. So he was pretty much just giving me money to survive and do other girl stuff.
It was a rough year, my worst year ever. I was on the edge all the time.
Then 2014 came, and I got my first real job as a Sales Associate with an auto-servicing company. My pay was 100 grand. And in the first month I started working there, the MD-slash-CEO, married man, decided that I was going to be his conquest. I no gree.
So, I pretty much earned one salary there.
Ehn?
So, I used to show up early because I lived far away. You know, the whole waking up to beat traffic. Many of the people who lived nearby came late on a regular. Anyway, the one time I got there late, this guy had gotten to the office before me. Someone else came late.
And then he decided that we were going to get punished. He legit came to the gate and told the security, “don’t let them in, they’re on indefinite suspension.”
They finally let us in, to collect our indefinite suspension letters, and I just dropped my laptop. Dropped my tag. Took my personal stuff and left. I knew I wasn’t coming back.
But I knew I wasn’t leaving Lagos to go back to my parents. No way I was going to tell them that I quit a job. I dunno how I survived till October. My family doesn’t even know I didn’t have a job that long. Because I was still sending money home from my savings. So I survived on that, living with a friend and her family. I wasn’t spending much on anything. So that money was what I was using to live every month.
Thank God we don’t look like what we’ve been through.
I got another job in October of 2014. Now, my salary there was 85k (100k) while I was in Sales. Then I moved to Marketing, and that’s when things started to turn rosy. In marketing, I got bumped to 120k. Net. I can’t remember what the gross was.
Nobody seems to care about gross.
Aha! I left in 2015 December, then I started working at an agency. My net was 180k. That was when I actually realised I might not be bad at this marketing thing. Bear in mind that I already started volunteering the year before, 2014 that is.
I only got paid a total of 50k for two years, but it really was volunteer work for me. Them paying me was just a stipend. I really just loved doing it.
Anyway, I started volunteering for another community group, and I wasn’t just going to do it because I loved doing it at this point. I was sick and tired of that loving-it shit.
Back to the Agency.
Anyway, I was in the marketing agency till the end of 2017. But before we even got to this point, I started taking side jobs. My first side hustle was to manage social media and I was getting paid 35k. After that, I got–
–I can’t remember the job I did o, but I know they were paying me 30k every month. All of this was while working at the agency.
Another place I was volunteering also started paying like 20k. Wait, was it 20k or 15k? Erm… Yes yes! 20k. In between all of this, I had a project for three months for another company that paid me 120k every month for three months.
Anyway, I left that agency to another job that was paying 900 dollars. Then another side hustle that was paying 50k.
So side hustles have always been a thing.
Since 2015, yes. They still are. In 2018, I worked for another small company. It was part-time, so I didn’t have to go to work. I did that for four months–150k/month. I was still doing the 50k one still. Is it confusing?
Mad o. At your peak, how many side hustles did you juggle at the same time?
About four. There was a time I gave one to someone sef. So they were paying the person through me.
So you’re an agency, basically.
Hahaha. I already registered my business name. I just don’t have the time to give it the attention it deserves. Because I got more jobs but I couldn’t take them on, not because of uhm…
It was too much to handle?
Neh. They weren’t paying me enough to handle. The main reason I still work for the 50k gig–I mean it’s now 40k–is because I really love the person. Can’t go that low for anyone else. By the way, I was getting some of these gigs through someone, my plug.
Shout out to your plug.
Got another gig mid-2017 that started paying me 60k. Then another gig that paid in dollars and was approximately 330k. Did that for 6 months.
Then I moved to my current job. My current job pays me 350k net. Then there’s the 40k one. Then I get another 35k. Then my husband gives me another 100k for house allowance, which I get to keep because sometimes I use just about half for house things. The rest, I pocket it. It actually used to be 150k before it reduced to 100k, and I’m just looking at him. Because if he should reduce it to 50k, this house will not contain two of us.
Hahaha.
See, the first day it happened, alert just entered kpim-kpim. 150k. Wow. What am I using it for? Wow. My husbanddddd. Then we had this month when we were moving, and had a lot of expenses and real estate investments, and the next month was when it first became 100k.
I barely get to spend my own personal money like that.
What has changed about your perspective between 2012 and now?
Put in the work. Everything will click. Like, when I think of the things that made me put myself under a lot of pressure, I probably shouldn’t have. I have a lot of leftover anxiety from those days.
What someone might achieve at 25, you might achieve at 35.
Also, I used to spend without thinking about the big picture, so it felt like I spent anyhow. That has changed. I bought some things today that I’ll now transfer to my Spreadsheet.
Everything is budgeted. I hardly do spontaneous expenses anymore. What happens when I want to do something tomorrow and I don’t have money? I’ve been poor before. I don’t ever want to be poor again, it frightens me.
So, your fear of poverty is a thing.
Yes. Constant fear. I don’t want to ever be poor. Like, I don’t want to hear that my husband loses his job and I can’t support the family. I don’t pray for it, but anything can happen. That fear helps me in my spending, my saving and my investing.
Now, let’s break down that monthly income.
Waait, let me bring my calculator…
Wow, where’s all the money going to?
I put 100k in my savings first. Again, I don’t have a particular amount I save in total every month. I use an app for saving, so It takes every week. So the money just goes. So sometimes I’ve already saved my regular 100 grand, then they can remove another 40k. So, average, I save about 150k every month. Save or invest. I do mutual funds too. And I want to start farming.
My husband invests in farming cycles. I asked him yesterday like, “Is it that you don’t think that I like investing too?” He said he knows I invest in other things.
“But I know that you farm, so you don’t think I can farm?”
He said okayyy, when the next cycle comes I’ll tell you. And I said waaaait, so you didn’t know you’ll tell me since?
The place he invests in, they do mostly crops, and he gets margins of up to 50-something per cent. I’m moving all my investments into this when the next cycle is coming.
I don’t really splurge, because I don’t really go out. Every month, someone in Church is always wanting us to pay for something. So
So, your money looks split between the House, Family, and Faith.
Yep. I spend a lot of money on my husband too. You garra take care of the person that is giving you money. Keep him happy and all that.
“You don’t have black shoe again? I buy you black shoe.”
“Native is fading? Let’s sew another one.”
“Baby, you need a pedicure.”
I have a budget for him every month.
Then, I change money to dollars. Wow, that means I actually save more than I think I save o.
What’s your dollar budget every month?
100 dollars. Because you never know when you can ja from this country.
You don’t seem to be doing badly, but how much do you feel like you should be earning?
Minus side hustles? 6 million per annum, net. I actually got an offer like that, but it was a startup. They asked me what I wanted and I said 6 mil, and they said okay, come for an interview. I was just there thinking “ehn? Why didn’t I say 8 million?”
Why don’t you want to work for startups?
Generally, startups are too unstructured for me. Like, it’s great and everything, but there’s just too much chaos. I’m sick of it. I can’t deal with the communication issues, the uncertainties, the fact that you talked about doing something in two weeks, and suddenly you want to do it tomorrow. I never want to get to the point where I tsk at work. Because when I start doing that, I start looking for another job. I don’t want to work in a place where they tell me that after two months, they can’t pay my salary, because of kini-kan kini-kan.
Where I currently work though, there really is a sense of security for salary and other stuff, so I’m good.
Also, I’m looking to switch from marketing to actual management of products. That’s where the money is. I wanted to take a course online for it but it’s a lot. And I’m just like, is it really worth it? Should I wait till when I move to Canada?
Ah, Canada when?
Next year, maybe. We’ve started the process, little by little. Are you religious? I am religious. God has shown me where I’m going to work in five years.
Tell me.
It’s one of the Big Tech. Managing products. When I had that revelation I was like, “I don’t know shit about product management” so I have to start learning. So I’ve started taking courses on Udemy, for example. Small-small.
So it means you know what you want to be earning in 5 years.
110 grand per year. In dollars. Because the average is 110. That’s not even you being exceptionally good.
What’s something you want but you can’t afford?
A new car. This car is showing me pepper. I’ve spent over 200k on this car this year alone. And it’s still making noise. But then I’m not sure it’s a real need, because why am I buying a new car when I’m leaving Nigeria next year?
Do you see a future where you retire from work?
I will–but I’m still going to have a business. Also, my children need to be in football or something so they can be part of my retirement plan.
Have you started saving for their football money though?
We’ve started saving for their future. We both have a savings plan for them. It’s part of my money that I’m saving, but he’s also investing in a bunch of things. To be honest, our investments are pretty much for them.
Like, all I have in my mutual funds are for my children.
I need them to be well equipped, so their mum and dad can enjoy their lives when they’re 50. It’s important they enjoy before they can make us enjoy.
Talking about the future, what’s your pension looking like?
One of my first jobs had a pension plan that was keeping aside 8k per month. The next one, about 12k. To be honest, I don’t even know how much is in my pension account right now sef.
If I ask you what your most annoying miscellaneous has been, will you say your car?
Ah, yes. Wait, it’s my phone. Last year. They stole my phone, and I wasn’t ready to buy another one. I went for Christmas rocks, and they stole my phone. I could have just stayed in my house and slept. This phone cost me 300-and-something-k.
But this year, it’s definitely my car. It cost me 55k. Then my husband paid 80k, because he loves me like that. Because I’m his sugar baby.
I just saw alert, and I’m like “you sent me money?” and he says, yes, it’s for your car. He takes care of me actually. He takes really good care of me.
Not sure I need to ask you the satisfaction question. But anyway, on a scale of 1-10?
Awwn, 15. I’m really happy. Can’t even lie. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed with work, school..Ohhhhhh, I forgot one part. There’s this certification I’m going to school for. Totally not worth it. If I had known 2 years ago that I was going to become a product manager, I wouldn’t have taken the course. I paid almost 200k last month. I was now living from hand to mouth. I don’t like this course anymore–it’s dragging for so long and it’s not giving me the value. They didn’t even advise me properly. The only reason I’ve not abandoned it is because of Canada.
What’s something you wanted me to ask, but I didn’t?
Oh, I’ve seen you ask this question before. Neh, nothing. You asked everything. Wait, maybe you should have asked me about investments, but then I already said everything because I knew you were going to ask about it.
This was super lit. Thank you for taking the time.
Worth it.
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