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The topic of how young Nigerians navigate romantic relationships with their earnings is a minefield of hot takes. In Love Currency, we get into what relationships across income brackets look like in different cities.

Interested in talking about how money moves in your relationship? If yes, click here.

How long have you been with your partner?

Leke and I have been together for five years, and married for one.

How did you meet?

We’ve been best friends since secondary school. You know those kinds of friends everyone tells to be a couple, but they keep shouting, “We’re just friends”? We were like that for years until we woke up one day in 2020 and realised we were meant for each other.

I’m very curious about how the switch happened

It was actually a gradual process. If I’m being honest, my feelings had started going beyond friendship as far back as 2018, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I couldn’t act on it. I couldn’t risk entertaining those feelings if Leke didn’t feel the same way.

I later realised Leke had felt the same way even longer, but he kept quiet because he didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Then lockdown happened, and everyone thought the world was ending. Two close friends and a family member died from COVID-19. Leke said, “Well, we’re going to die anyway, but before that happens, I have something to tell you.”

I was just like, “You this big head, I feel the same.”

Romcom writers are shaking right now

Haha. We didn’t live happily ever after. Transitioning from friends to lovers was tough, and we argued a lot. Suddenly, things we didn’t mind became big deals because the dynamic had changed. We even broke up two months into the relationship because we just couldn’t find a common ground. But love won, and we got back together three days later.

What were these disagreements about?

They were mostly small issues like not calling as often as the other person liked or stubbornly refusing to see the other person’s perspective.

One of our major fights happened around my NYSC call-up in 2021. I wanted to pay a sure plug ₦120k to work my posting to Lagos, but Leke thought it was a waste of money and discouraged me. I didn’t understand his problem with it because he wasn’t even the one paying, plus I was doing it because I didn’t want us to live in different cities for a year.

The whole issue deteriorated, and I thought he wanted me far away because he wanted to chase other girls. It was such a funny issue, but we fought about it for days. In the end, Leke’s uncle helped me with the NYSC matter, and I got posted to Lagos without paying anything.

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What was your and Leke’s financial situation at the time?

It wasn’t great in those early days. Leke graduated from uni a year before me and was working as a designer at an ad agency. I can’t remember his salary, but it was less than ₦100k. He mostly survived on side gigs and freelance projects.

My own salary was the ₦33k allawee from NYSC. I also sold thrift clothes and shoes on Instagram between 2021 and 2023, but I’m really terrible with money and never kept track of my profit. I even had some stints of corporate employment during that time, but my salary often went back into my business.

There was no clear demarcation between what I made from the business and any other money that entered my hands. I just knew I was selling and making extra money to buy stuff for myself.

When I got broke, I ran to Leke for help, and he loaned me money. Sometimes, I paid him back. Other times, which was most of the time, I paid him back “in kind.” There was always some form of repayment.

It’s giving 419. Did he ever complain about having to rescue you with money, though?

He jokingly complained sometimes, but he just learnt to accept me as I am. Money hardly causes issues because he had realised I didn’t have the best relationship with money since we were just friends.

I’m very easygoing, and unfortunately, this extends to how I deal with money. If I have money, I don’t mind spending it on both important and unimportant things. I love to get things for myself, have a nice time, and treat people well.

Money is a tool for comfort, and I don’t like to overthink it. If I enter the market and see two drivers fighting because one bashed the other’s car, I can offer to foot the bill so that they stop fighting and causing traffic on the road.

Interesting

I can be frugal when I’m broke, but let money just enter my hand first and see the wonders I can do. I know it’s not great, and I’m working towards more intentionally tracking how I spend money.

While I work on that, I have Leke for balance. He’s been our financial manager since we got married. He tracks everything and makes the major financial decisions because, left to me, our money will fly away.

Speaking of marriage, how did you both handle wedding expenses?

We both contributed to the expenses. I landed a ₦370k/month job at a fintech company a few months before our wedding in 2024, and was able to handle a few expenses like my wedding dresses and makeup. Leke also had some savings, and our friends and parents pitched in. We spent at least ₦3m on the two wedding ceremonies.

How about your home’s expenses now that you’re married?

We both contributed initially. After the wedding, we had to move into a new two-bedroom apartment, which we set up from scratch. Leke paid the rent and agent fees (₦1.9m in total), while I paid ₦480k for the curtains and a single sofa.

By the way, we’re still setting up our apartment. Everything is so expensive, we must get things one at a time. The visitors’ room still doesn’t have a bed or a chair. Luckily, we received many kitchen appliances and electronics as wedding gifts, saving us some money.

Then, for daily living expenses like food and utility bills, we just paid for them as they came. Leke could give me ₦20k for food, and I could add ₦10k because I felt like eating snails.

However, I quit my job in February, so Leke has been handling all the expenses on his ₦770k/month income.

Why did you quit your job?

I hated my job and was severely depressed and burned out. It was so bad that I’d wake up in the mornings and start crying. I wanted to quit, but didn’t want to leave without a backup plan. Most importantly, I didn’t want to be a housewife who depended on her husband for money.

Ultimately, Leke begged me to quit because he feared I would break down. We sat down to discuss what I wanted to do with my professional life, and we decided it was best for me to take time to restrategise. I shared my fears about depending on him, and he said something that stuck with me: “If you can’t depend on me, who will you depend on? What am I here for?”

Right now, I’m pursuing a master’s degree and taking professional courses online to position myself for the career path I believe aligns with my passion. I’m grateful I have Leke’s full support, but I’ve given myself two years to figure things out. I don’t plan to be a housewife with no income for long. I need to make money, not just to support my home but to have some form of independence.

How does budgeting for dates and romance work in your relationship?

We don’t have a strict budget or plan around dates. Whenever we want to go out, we just talk about it.

We buy each other things randomly. Last week, I bought him a ₦3k pair of (imitation) Crocs because I didn’t like that he wore his palm slippers everywhere. Leke randomly orders food to surprise me, so I don’t have to cook.

We’ll probably reduce the frequency of these random purchases because we have a single income source now, and there are still school expenses to worry about. It makes sense to be more frugal.

Do you both have safety nets?

At this point, it’s already clear I’m not the best saver. Leke is the one who reminds me to keep money aside. I did have ₦120k in my savings after I quit my job, but that went into settling part of my school expenses. We’ve spent ₦700k so far on the school matter, and Leke paid most of it.

Leke also saves ₦200k monthly. Most of that goes into paying rent. I also know he saved some dollars in a savings app for emergencies. I’m unsure how much it is, but it’s less than $2k.

What’s your ideal financial future as a couple?

I just want us to be comfortable — the kind of comfort where we can afford to take two international trips annually without breaking a sweat.

Interested in talking about how money moves in your relationship? If yes, click here.

*Names have been changed for the sake of anonymity.

NEXT READ: This Virtual Assistant Saves Half of Her Salary With Her Boyfriend

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A few weeks ago, the Nigerian public was stunned by a video of a teacher, Stella Nwadigo, at Christ-Mitots School, Isawo Road, Ikorodu, Lagos, aggressively slapping her three-year-old pupil, Michael Abayomi.

The teacher has since been arrested and arraigned in court. But her action is hardly an isolated incident.

We spoke to five Nigerians who bravely shared their stories of being bullied by their teachers. From the ridiculous to the heartbreaking, these stories highlight the lasting impact teachers bullying students have on their mental health, self-esteem, and overall educational experience.

We’re not here to villainise teachers (we know many amazing ones out there!), but to shed light on the often-overlooked issue of teacher bullying in Nigerian schools and possibly spark a necessary conversation about the power dynamics in our educational system.

Joseph*

My first experience of bullying in university was with a professor, a quite religious person too, who I looked up to in my department. She taught us a political science course, and she had an arbitrary rule that if you missed the first class, you’d have to forfeit the course and register for other electives. That wasn’t in the school’s regulation, but hey, it’s a public university—a lecturer’s word is law. Unfortunately, I missed that class due to some family matters, which I explained to her after I got back. She gave me a condition: I must attend her church every Sunday and submit to her written reports of the things I learnt in the service. Upon hearing her condition, I knew I couldn’t do that. So, I forfeited her course. I wasn’t the only one; some other people did too.

Tobi*

JSS2 must have been the most humiliating period of my life. My Business Studies teacher, under the guise of being a disciplinarian and moralist, would make us slap each other in class. For context, this woman had issues with sporting waves; any sight of shiny, well-groomed hair is a sign of “big boy”, and that was considered an influence of joining bad gang in her book.

On the particular day of the week that Dagrin died, some of my classmates and I were sad about his death. We sang his songs during break time, and I wrote some of his lyrics on our chalkboard. When the break was over, Business Studies was our next class. This woman came in and saw the chalkboard. She realised they were “secular” lyrics and got angry. She asked the class who wrote it. We were all silent for a while, but when her tone got stronger, some people pointed at me. I stood up and went to meet her in front of the class. She pulled me closer and slapped me. Then she told me to wipe the chalkboard clean. I picked up the duster, she said, “Ugh, ugh. No. Use your shirt to clean it.” She meant my school uniform. That meant taking off my tie and unbuttoning my shirt and taking it off. By the time I took it off, students from other classes were already watching the incident. I didn’t wear a singlet under my shirt. I was unclad, and some people laughed at me because I had big breasts as a guy. It wasn’t new knowledge that I was fat. Everyone knew that, but some still made jests while I hastily, under fear and humiliation, cleaned the board with my shirt. By the time I was done, my shirt was dark and dirty. She made me wear it again and sat through her class as she rained insults here and there.

It’s crazy that it happened in a missionary school. It was even crazier that I was scared to report what happened to my parents at home and to the school principal because she was fearsome. I hate the woman, man. I don’t think anything will ever cancel my hate for her out of my heart.

If you or someone you know is being bullied, here is a link to helplines they can call.

Francis

While we prepared for valedictory service and graduation in my school when I was in SS3, a Computer Science teacher, who was a popular irritant amongst students, showed that she could go lower and be vile. The school’s graphic designer presented what he had made for our yearbook to us, the principal and teachers. This woman flared up upon seeing my photo on the front cover. She began to shout that, no way they would have my photo there, and that I was a bad kid. People were confused and surprised that she did that, but I wasn’t. It wasn’t her first time bullying and taunting me in her classes and on the assembly ground. My confidence and outspokenness disgusted her. If she caught me laughing loudly with friends, she’d either insult and call us “class hooligans” or even punish us (her way of getting us busy since we had time to laugh). It was a long back and forth, because I stood up to her and insisted that the design remained the same. I could talk because I facilitated how we got the photographer that took photos of the graduates and literally worked as a prop man for the photographer on that day. I wondered how someone who was old enough to be my aunt and who was supposed to be my teacher hated me so much. Eventually, the principal told the designer to leave the design as it was.

Osaze*

I have always been charismatic, even as a teenager. I was the boy every girl had a crush on. There was a teacher who hated my guts because he hated the fact that one of the students he was attracted to liked me. This is a grown-ass man hating a teenager for pulling another teenager. One day, he got his chance to act on that hate. I got to school late, and then he called me to his office and flogged me till my uniform was soaked in blood. I can’t even call this flogging because the wounds were so bad that I was hospitalized for days. When my mom came to pick me up, she couldn’t believe her eyes. She got the teacher arrested, but he was eventually bailed out. Till today, I still have scars from that day. I never went back to that school.

Adijat

I was the class captain in SS3 and it was my duty to go call the teachers whenever they were late for a class they have to teach. Our maths teacher was late and when I went to his office to notify him that he was running late, he expected me to stay back a bit, chatting and making jokes with him. But I didn’t. I told him he was as sharp as I could be and left the office. I think he caught an attitude from that and kept it to heart.

When he got to the class, one of my friends saw something funny during his teaching and laughed. That distracted me, and I looked back to see what was happening. Before I turned my neck back, the teacher suddenly called me to stand up and accused me of being a nuisance, disturbing his class. He told me to go kneel outside the class.

While I was outside, kneeling, my guardian saw me and asked what happened. I told him, but the maths teacher overheard and rushed outside to say I was lying. He then added to the punishment. He told me never to come to his class again and instructed me to wash plates at the dining hall every morning while his maths class went on. That was washing plates four times a week. Thinking the teacher didn’t mean it, I attended his math class the following day. He sent me out. I missed math class and washed plates every math period for two weeks. Even on days that I pretended that I was sick, he didn’t give a damn. I had to call my mom to tell her the situation. My mom told me to beg him. I begged him for four days, and my guardian interceded for me before he considered accepting me back to his class.

If you want to know if you or someone you know is being bullied, here is a link to useful resources.

10 Nigerians Share their New Year’s Resolutions for 2025
Take the quiz:
Ask your friends studying in the UK. It’s not all fun and vibes. They can relate to most, if not all of the struggle on this list.

1. The slangs

Bruh, what the heck does “ledge” and “innit” even mean? Hay God.

2. The weather

Everywhere will just be cold and wet. They should have kuku said it’s inside freezer you’re coming to study.

3. The constant homesickness

“Hard guy or gal”, until you find yourself missing your mother in the middle of the night. Tuff.

4. Everyone thinks you’re flexing

Boya you should set up a gofundme so they’ll know things are critical, because why all dis? Or you can become a Kyshi Affiliate and learn while you earn. Register here.

5. Travelling costs

The return ticket alone can give you instant heart attack. It looks like witchcraft will be the best option at this point. You better take advantage of the FREE back to school ticket by Kyshi or get a discount.

6. Phone calls

See, just make WhatsApp and Zoom your best friend, because those call charges are from hell.

7. Sending/receiving money

As if your money struggle in Nigeria isn’t enough. Now, you’re in a foreign country and it looks like e your village people have swallowed the money.

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You can take advantage of this amazing opportunity to win a back to school ticket to London courtesy Kyshi, in partnership with @travelstartng.

How to Participate:

Download and sign up on the Kyshi App. Transact at least £500 during the campaign period (1 September – 17 September) Check @kyshico for more details.
Sitting for any exam can be tedious, how much more, almighty JAMB. And checking your result? That can be a nerve-wracking process, but you have to go through with it because how else are you going to get into university? Better to do so as soon as possible so you can put your mind at ease. Ready to check your JAMB result? Follow these simple steps on how to check it.

How to check your JAMB result
1. Visit JAMB’s official website: www.jamb.gov.ng.
2. Next, locate and click on ‘E-facility’ on the menu bar.
3. On the page that shows up, click on the ‘UTME 2021 Main Results Notification Slip’ button.
4. On the next page, enter your ‘Reg Number’ or ‘GSM Number’ on the space provided.
5. Then Click on ‘ Check My Result’ to complete the steps.
6. You should be able to see your result afterwards.
If you’d also like to print out your JAMB result, here’s how:
- Log on to jamb.gov.ng/Efacility.
- Look for Post Registration on the E-facility menu.
- Click on Print Result Slip button.
- Next, enter either your Reg or GSM Number
- Finally, click on Check My Result to wrap up the process.
- Note that printing out your result might come with a N1,000 charge.
Good luck! Uni here you come.

NOTE: Candidates used to be able to check their results via SMS by sending UTMERESULT to 55019 from the phone number used to obtain the profile code. However, that method of checking JAMB results is no longer functional due to issues the people who made the method have encountered. If anything changes in regards to the way to check JAMB results, this page will be updated with the information.
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 club hostess and waitress. Club hostesses help clients with reservations and carry out bottles with sparklers when people buy expensive drinks. Our subject talks about the stereotype associated with her job, balancing school and work, and some of the most expensive drinks she has served.

FRIDAY:

I feel lucky that I have a job because I can’t imagine how I’d cope without one. A little back story: I’m currently living in Akure because of school and outside of classes, I have nothing to do. A typical day for me usually involves class, hostel, class, hostel, rinse and repeat.

With a job in the mix, I’m happy there’s finally some variety: class, hostel, work, rinse and repeat. Keeping a job as a student requires constant moving around of my schedule. Some days, I go from work to class. On other days, it’s from class to work.

Today, I’m going from the lab to work. School ends at 4 p.m., and I have to prepare for work at 6 p.m. The club officially opens at 9:30 p.m. but resumption time is 6 p.m.

I work as a hostess in a club and I like to call it waitressing pro-max — if such a name exists.

My job is to go to work, be on my best behaviour, look beautiful, put on a smile and welcome customers. It’s also my job to show them to their table and make them comfortable. On nights where we have a full house, I also substitute as a waitress and help serve drinks.

The part of my job I love the most is seeing people buy expensive drinks, hey Jesus! Dorime things. When I’m hyping the person popping drinks by dancing and carrying lights, I’m constantly reminding myself that if the drink falls, I’m finished. Some of these drinks cost more than my annual salary. I haven’t gotten used to seeing people casually spend millions of naira on alcohol in one night.

But, I try not to visibly show my shock because the show must go on.

School is currently in session, so my work schedule has changed from every day to only Friday to Sunday. From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Although, I still find myself working during the week because work is fun and my co-workers feel like family.

SATURDAY:

Midnight of Friday/Saturday morning:

I resumed work at 6 p.m. yesterday. I barely made it to work on time because I overslept when I got to the hostel. It took the grace of God for me to jump up when I did and I rushed to work.

The first thing I did at work was to eat the cereal I packed. Next, I started making reservations for guests coming later at night when we fully opened. At some point, I helped the barman take inventory and plan the drinks for the night. When I was tired, I went to a restaurant in the same building as the club to chill.

At 9 p.m., I went to change. I was torn between a red dress with a thigh slit and a plain black round neck shirt. I almost chose the red dress, but I remembered that the last time I wore it, a man pointed at my nipple, another slapped my butt and one couldn’t stop staring at my breasts — even though they aren’t that big. And so, the plain black round neck won.

3 a.m.

I’ve been by the door welcoming guests all night. In that time, I and the other hostesses have danced up to five times for people popping drinks. I’ve also worn a mask to hide my face during those five times because I’m shy.

In this same night, I’ve also gotten offers from people who say they want to fuck me. One even offered to triple my monthly salary if I go home with him. Wonders shall never end.

4:00 a.m.

The alcohol has finally kicked in. The DJ’s playlist is fire. People have stopped coming in and now I’m catching my own fun.

5:00 a.m.

I’m not doing again. I’m tired. These people should come and be going home.

6:00 a.m.

God. These people are still here dancing and partying. Don’t they want us to go home? Are they not tired? I’m tired.

I miss my bed.

7:00 a.m.

Finally, the last customer just left. Thank you, Jesus!

Noon

Nobody can separate me from this bed. Not food, not water, not even phone calls. I want to sleep till tomorrow if I can.

5 p.m.

I can’t believe I have to get up for work. This adulthood is very somehow because someone can’t even relax. Just work every day until you die.

SUNDAY:

Midnight of Saturday/Sunday morning

Tonight has been uneventful. People are coming in much slower than usual and the energy on the dance floor is off. With the kind of evening I had when I got to work, I’m glad things are slow now.

For the longest time, I’ve suspected that people view so-called “club girls” differently. However, today’s incident proved me right.

The owner of the club I work in owns a hotel within the building our office is in, and I chill at the hotel’s bar and restaurant all the time. Yesterday, [male] friends from my school came to lodge in our hotel. That’s how I went to say hi to them because these are friends I had before starting this job.

As I was leaving their room to start work, I heard someone say, “she has gone to do the job they hired her for. The job of fucking customers.”

My heart dropped, my palms and face were covered in sweat, and I was speechless.

It’s somehow when people just stereotype you. Club girl doesn’t mean she fucks around. Club girl doesn’t mean she’s for sale or wants your money. Club girl doesn’t mean she’s not a person; she’s a human being too.

Last last this work is not for everyone because if you don’t have sense they’ll run you streets.

3 a.m.

The last customer just left, so we’re done for the day. However, according to our contract, we can’t leave until 6:00 a.m. Everyone is either sleeping or about to sleep. I can’t because my body is already used to sleeping during the day.

To pass time, I try to match drinks to their prices. We have:

— Hennessy Paradis. We sell for ₦1M and people buy it like pure water.

— Azul costs ₦400k and is decent.

— Ace of Spades is ₦450k.

— Hennessy xo is ₦350k. Same price as Remy XO. Dom Perignon is around ₦300 – ₦350k too.

— Don Julio is ₦400k.

— Then we have the Moet family which costs ₦65k. This is in the same category as Hennessy VSOP.

— We sell Glenfiddich between ₦65 – ₦85k too.

— Our Ciroc goes for ₦45,000

There’s a drink for everybody.

6:00 a.m.

Finally, my watch has ended. I’m going home to sleep all day. I’m grateful that my colleagues told me to go home while they stayed back to balance the account and clean up.

MONDAY:

6:00 a.m.

The only thing powering me this morning is energy drinks. Last night was so busy that you’ll never have imagined that the next day was Monday. Customers were everywhere, so I barely had time to rest. To make things worse, my first class starts at 8:00 a.m. today and attendance is compulsory.

I have to do everything in my power to not touch my bed. Anything that makes me lie down small, that’s the end. I’m gone. I just need to manage till 2 p.m. when school ends for today. I don’t know how I’ll survive the lectures, but the first step is getting to school in one piece.

It’ll soon be a year since I started doing this job. It’s funny how this job started as a way to keep busy and earn passive income after the lockdown was eased, and school was still closed. Now, it’s something I’ve come to enjoy. Beyond that, I’m really grateful I have a job I enjoy that occupies my time.

As a student, there’s no greater feeling than knowing I have my own money. I don’t depend on anyone for anything: I see something, I like it, and I save for it. Apart from the occasional harassment, this is a job I enjoy doing.

I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I had nothing to do.

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.
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 for today’s “A Week In The Life” is a 200 level university student of finance. She tells us about combining a labouring job with being a student, how her classmates make jest of her and why she shows up in spite of all life throws at her.

MONDAY:

There’s no light when my alarm wakes me up by 5 a.m. today. The only source of illumination in the room is from the screen of my phone that has 5:00 a.m. boldly written in front of it. Fumbling against the darkness with the light from my phone’s screen, the first thing I do is locate my rechargeable torchlight. Armed with this, I prepare to start my day.

First on the menu is bathing and brushing — I do this quietly so as to not wake my roommates. As a 200 level student in the university, this preparation could be considered too early for lectures. However, I’m preparing to go to work. In addition to being a student, I juggle a full-time job as a labourer on a construction site.

It’s 5:45 a.m. by the time I’m done getting dressed. I leave the room by 5:50 a.m. and thankfully, because the construction site is a 5 minutes walk from the hostel, I arrive before 6 a.m. At the venue, I change into work clothes and wait for the more senior workers to start trooping in.

During my wait, my colleague informs me that the task for today is setting blocks on the third floor. This means that everyone is required to carry blocks from the ground floor to the third floor, where they’ll be laid. Additionally, today’s payment will be determined by the number of blocks carried —50 blocks gets you ₦1,250. I hear my colleagues making plans to carry 300 – 400 blocks, and I mentally remind myself that my quota is 50 blocks. After all, I can’t afford to overexert myself since first semester exams start tomorrow.

TUESDAY:

I don’t need an alarm to wake me since I’m up by 2 a.m. studying. My first paper is by 8 a.m. and I have to revise all that I’ve read. After getting in by 4 p.m. yesterday, I was so exhausted that I just went to have a bath and lie down.

Even though I’m grateful for having a source of income, I can’t help but flash back to when things weren’t like this.

I initially started working part-time at a dry-cleaning store. I’d attend lectures in the morning, get back to the hostel by or before 2 p.m. and immediately go to resume at the store. By 7 p.m. I’d be done for the day and back in my hostel. However, when the pandemic hit, the dry cleaning store couldn’t afford to pay me so they let me go.

I was worried and scared, but I couldn’t sit idly without making money. The idea of waiting for my parents before buying anything in school spurred me into action. While thinking of jobs to do, I noticed a construction site behind my hostel and went over to ask them for a job.

On the first day, the engineer on site said he couldn’t allow me to work because it was a man’s job. I had to assure him that beyond my tiny body, I was mighty and could do the work. At the end of my first day, I ended up carrying 12 buckets of sand, 10 buckets of granite, 25 headpans of concrete, and I fetched a lot of water. The payment for that day was ₦4,000. I remember feeling extremely happy to have made my own money.

Even though ₦4,000 is big money, I’m sure that I will make more with education, and that’s why I’m awake and studying.

I check my watch and notice an hour has passed. I have just five more hours until exams officially begin.

WEDNESDAY:

I went viral on the internet today. I resumed at the site, as usual, changed into work clothes and started my day. During our ten minutes break, I asked a colleague to snap me so I could update my media on Twitter.

I posted my photo and went back to work.

After an hour, I opened my Twitter and saw 300 likes on my picture. I wondered what was happening. For someone who usually got 20 likes per photo, this was strange. I chalked it up to Twitter people whining me and went back to work.

Aside being a student..☺️ pic.twitter.com/VZP0UerBuO
— Jennifer Okuro (@02franx) March 26, 2021

I opened Twitter again by closing time and saw 7,000 likes on the photo. In my head, I was like, “E be like say things don red.” Between the time it took for me to get to the hostel, have a bath and settle in, the picture already had 10,000 likes. In my head I was shouting, “I don blow.”

The only “downside” now is that I have to call my family and tell them what I’ve been up to. I don’t want a situation where they find out from gossip blogs. I know my dad and brother will take it well, my mum too might not complain. The only person I’m worried that might not take it well is my elder sister because she might say that the job is embarrassing her. Anyhow, I’m not too bothered because I know that the job I’m doing is very legal.

THURSDAY:

I wrote my second paper today. With every exam I write, I go one step away from my past and two steps into my future. I’ve done a lot of jobs to get me up to this stage, and I don’t take it for granted. If I had to give a timeline of all the jobs I’ve done, it’ll go like this:

Junior secondary school — got paid for copying notes and drawing biology diagrams.

Senior secondary school — worked in a sawmill as a woodcutter.

Immediately after writing WAEC — worked long hours in Katangwa market as a cloth seller and sometimes load carrier for people.

University — worked in a dry cleaning shop.

Now — working on a construction site.

Because I know where I’m coming from, it’s easy not to flinch when people make jest of me for being a labourer. The most painful incident was when my classmate saw me at work and called her roommates to laugh at me. At first, it pained me, but I had to remind myself I was making money from the job;she could go fuck herself.

After we finished our exam today, another classmate asked me if I was so desperate for money that I took up labourer work. I just walked past her because it’s none of her business. No matter what you do people will talk. If you’re lazy they’ll talk. If you’re hard-working they’ll talk. If you’re irresponsible they’ll talk. Even if you’re neutral they’ll talk. There’s nothing you’ll do that people won’t run commentary, whether good or bad. At the end of the day, that’s their business.

FRIDAY:

I have neither exams nor work today, so I can tell that today will be a good day. I’m finally going to rest. My plan is simple: sleep and catch up on Attack on the Titans [AOT] and Jujutsu Kaisen [JJK]. I can’t wait to see the latest episode of AOT and watch my baby, Eren, in action. AOT fans love Levi Ackerman, but I can’t stand him because he steals the spotlight from my guy, Eren.

I’m also going to catch up on the latest episode of JJK because I can’t wait to see my favorite characters fight.

I can’t lie, I’m grateful for rest days. My life is basically work, school, church on the weekends, and reading in the middle of the night. I have no time for myself to do anything. On days like this, I get to not only unwind but also think about my future. I’m still in my second year of studying finance, but I know where I want to end and where I don’t. I know I don’t want to end up working in a bank. If I must work in a bank I’d like to work at the Central Bank or alternatively, I’d like to thread Okonjo Iweala’s career path. I know that one day, I can become the minister of finance and even go on to become the DG of the World Trade Organisation. At least I know that by the time I’m ready, Okonjo Iweala would have retired. LOL.

My dreams scare me because I don’t know how to get to where I hope to be. Most people I’ve told about my dreams have laughed and said I’m making up fantasies in my head. Even if I don’t know how to reach my dreams, I’ll never stop pushing. I’ll never stop trying. In some part of my mind, I know that fantasies sometimes do come true in reality.

But before they can come to life I have to rest. Today is shaping up to be a perfect day to do that.

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Have you ever been broke in school? Down to your last cash, and no means of help in sight? Then this list will bring back memories of endurance and longsuffering.

1) Exercise

It’s not every time you get in a bus or a car. Sometimes, you cruise with your legedes benz. You just want to feel the sun on your back again. It’s not like you’re broke

2) Food

You get adventurous with your food options. When you’re broke is when you start combining corn and bread, garri and vegetable, etc. We will be praying for your stomach

3) Borrowing

Whatever you need that you don’t have? You’d borrow. Textbook? Hanger? Hot plate? BORROW. Borrow borrow make you fine, and who doesn’t want to be fine?

4) Hard work

If you used to take your clothes to get washed before, suddenly you’d remember your great grandfather was a clothes washer in his past life. Laziness be gone.

5) Friendship

You disappear immediately after class now, before one of your friends decide that’s when they want to try a new bukka that opened last week. Anytime you see your friends, you run
Sufferings in mirror are closer than they appear. Approach with caution because adulthood is the ghetto.

1) Attitude towards savings:

As a student: Vibes and inshallah.

As an adult: Piggyvest, Cowrywise, Kolo.

2) Attitude towards spending:

As a student: My money grows like grass.

As an adult: There’s rice at home.

3) Source of money:

As a student: Parents, scams, uncles and aunts.

As an adult: Your capitalist employer who owns your soul.

4) Reaction to credit alert:

As a student: Excitement.

As an adult: Problem, problem, another problem waiting to take the money.

5) Worry levels:

As a student: Indifferent.

As an adult: Constantly calculating if you can buy chicken without trekking to work the next day.

6) Responsibilities:

As a student: Only yourself.

As an adult: Black tax, jaapa funds, people who prayed for you when you were in school, everyone.

7) Attitude towards free money:

As a student: Errm, thank you?

As an adult: God bless you so so much. Your children will never suffer.

8) Stress level before getting money:

As a student: The stress of calling parents.

As an adult: Two danfos, one okada, and one HR that wants to pay in exposure.