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.

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When did you first realise the importance of money?

My dad suddenly fell ill when I was 8, and things changed at home. My mum started selling off our property and begging relatives for money to sort his treatment costs. My siblings and I also changed schools. 

All we talked about was how to get money for my dad. It was my first wake-up call about what not having money could do.

What do you remember about your family’s finances before your dad’s illness?

We weren’t rich, but we were comfortable. My dad was a civil servant, and my mum didn’t need to work; my dad provided everything. 

Then, the illness happened.

Although my dad recovered in months, our family never did. The financial strain fractured my parents’ relationship, and they divorced three years later in 2013. My mum got custody of the children, and my dad remarried. 

Our financial situation grew worse because my mum now had to provide for us. She moved us into a face-me-I-face-you apartment and supported us with petty trading. She often had to beg my school to let me write exams while owing school fees. 

I only wrote WAEC because we begged my uncle for money. I didn’t write NECO because we couldn’t afford it. My mum told me plainly that she couldn’t sponsor me past secondary school. My elder sister was paying herself through uni, too. So, I had to look for money.

What did you do?

A week after my WAEC exams in 2018, I found work as a salesgirl at a bookstore for ₦15k/month. I worked every day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and saved religiously. I didn’t spend money on myself.

After a few months, I quit my job at the bookstore because my mum thought the work was stressful and the environment was unsafe. By the time I left, I’d saved ₦50k. My next job was as an attendant at a POS shop. This one paid ₦12k/month, but I often got tips from men.

While working at the POS shop, I met my first boyfriend. I told him about my situation, and he helped me set up a POS business to save for school. He bought the POS machine and loaned me ₦500k to run the business. This was in 2019.

How did running your own POS business go?

It was really profitable. My stand was in the market, so I often got clients. Within eight months, I’d made a little over ₦500k in profit.

In the same year, I got admitted to the university. There was no one to help me manage the POS business, so I decided to invest everything I’d made in forex. I met someone who claimed he could help me make up to 30% returns on my money in three months, and I thought it was a good idea. I reasoned that I could use part of the profit to pay my school fees and save the rest for other school expenses.

My boyfriend had broken up with me at this time, but he didn’t collect the ₦500k loan back. So, I had about ₦1.1m. I gave all the money to the guy, and he ran away with it. I wasn’t the only victim; he’d also collected money from other people in the market. I hadn’t even paid my school fees.

Damn. I’m so sorry

I cried so much. I couldn’t even tell my mum. I attempted suicide, but I was too broke to afford sniper. I settled for otapiapia (a local insecticide), which caused serious abdominal pain. 

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If you are or you know struggling with depression or suicidal tendencies, here’s a list of mental health helplines and resources for professional help.

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My mum rushed me to the hospital, and I confessed what I did to the doctor. He told my mum, and she was there for me. It was a very depressing couple of weeks. But I still had to go to school, so I returned to the job market. 

I found one as an office assistant for ₦30k/month. Two months into the job, I met my sugar daddy, and my life changed.

How did you meet him?

On my way to work. A car pulled up beside me, and the man inside asked me to get in. I did, then he did the whole “I like you and want to get to know you” thing. I knew what he wanted, but I was sceptical at first. I’d only had one boyfriend and didn’t think my next relationship should be with a much older man.

I told him this much, but he said he wasn’t in a hurry and we could take our time. We exchanged contacts, and he gave me ₦50k cash. The next day, he upgraded my torchlight phone to an Android. After that, he asked me to quit my job and not worry about another because he’d take care of me and pay my school fees.

He did all of this. He even paid for my flight when I was travelling to school; my first time on a plane. We weren’t even intimate yet. 

Interesting

While I was in school, we kept in touch over the phone. When COVID happened in 2020, and I was forced back home, he got me a job as his personal assistant. My salary was ₦70k/month, but he often gave me money as well.

When school activities resumed in 2021, he gave me ₦1m to start a business. But I didn’t even have a business idea, so I gave my mum ₦700k.

Did she ask where it came from?

She did. I told her my boyfriend had given me some money, but most of it was my savings from the different jobs I’d done. She believed me, and she used the money to stock up her shop and move to a better apartment.

Since then, my sugar daddy has given me a ₦100k monthly allowance, and I can call if I need more. 

In 2022, he got me an iPhone and a laptop. I used the latter to find a remote social media manager job with a cosmetics brand. My employer paid me ₦50k/month to post content and respond to messages. 

I didn’t need the money; I just wanted to be busy. I still work with the same brand, though my salary increased to ₦80k in 2024.

So, right now, your monthly income includes your salary and allowance

Plus a ₦850k monthly payout from a car investment I started in 2023. I’ll explain how this happened.

Towards the end of 2023, my sugar daddy gave me ₦4m — he randomly gives me huge amounts like that. Also, I had ₦3m savings, which brought the total amount I had to ₦7m. 

I used the money to enter a car investment scheme a friend had told me about. She’d bought a car from a transport company, and the company gave the car out to drivers in a hire-purchase agreement. The only difference is, she didn’t have to interface with the drivers. The company paid her monthly, and by the end of the year, she’d made almost ₦3m in profit.

I was sceptical because of my past investment experience, but I researched and confirmed the opportunity was legit. I bought a Toyota Corolla for ₦7.5m, and the company gave me the ownership documents and started paying me ₦850k/month. This was calculated based on the 36% returns per annum rate. At the end of the one-year payment period, I made ₦10.2m. Then, they collected the ownership documents and transferred them to the new owner.

I reinvested in 2024 and got another car. Actually, my sugar daddy paid for the car — I told him about the investment opportunity — so I diverted some of the returns from my first investment to buy a plot of land, which cost ₦2.2m.

Now, I still get ₦850k/month from the car. Also, my monthly allowance is now ₦150k – ₦200k. Add that to my salary, and I make a little over ₦1m in most months.

That’s wild. What are your financial responsibilities like?

Not much. My sugar daddy pays my tuition and accommodation fees. I send money to my mum regularly — like, ₦200k every two months. She knows I work online, so I don’t have to explain my income.

I spend a lot of money, though. My major vice is spending on clothes and wigs. I have so many of them and don’t even use them all. I also love going out on solo dates to try new food, treating my friends and buying them gifts. When I go shopping and see something a friend would like, I have to buy it. They also buy stuff for me.

Also, I loan people money. Maybe too much for my liking. Someone can just walk up to me in class and beg for money because they haven’t completed their school fees, and I loan them. They often don’t pay back.  

I’ve blocked so many people because trying to get my money back ended in fights.

Why are people like this?

It beats me. Last year, I loaned ₦400k to a schoolmate whose mum needed a life-saving surgery. I was touched because it was a familiar struggle. Wait, did I mention my dad died in 2018?

I’m so sorry

It’s okay. I felt sorry for the schoolmate and didn’t want her to go through all I did. Her dad even called me to beg. So, I gave them the money. But when I asked a few months later, the girl said I gave her dad the money, not her.

I involved the police after some back and forth, and we agreed that her dad would pay ₦50k/month until they cleared the loan. But here’s the thing; the man paid once. The situation got so bad that the girl started sending me death threats. 

Ah

I just left the money for them. I have several ₦25k here, ₦15k there outside. This year, I’ve decided I won’t loan money to anyone. So far, I’ve been successful. I’m learning how to say “no” and I hope to continue. The only thing left is to figure out how to control my spending.

Can you take me through what your spending looks like in a typical month?

My “gift” budget doesn’t include loans. Sometimes I just pay for people in buses, or I buy gifts for my friends. It’s more than that ₦40k, but that’s a good average.

Is there something you wish you could be better at financially?

Definitely savings. I want to have a more structured approach to saving. Right now, it’s just the money I get back from my investments that I try to save. I currently have ₦10.2m in my savings account.

How are you thinking about future plans post-school?

I’ll probably get a Master’s degree. I believe it’ll be helpful in building a career and would be a plus to my professional journey. I’ll likely do that while pursuing a certificate course in either data analysis, project management or UI/UX design. I love the idea of widening my knowledge and just want to develop myself professionally as much as possible.

Also, I plan to break up with my sugar daddy soon, so I’m trying to pay more attention to saving so I’ll have a healthy safety net.

I’m curious. Is there a reason why you want to leave him?

To be honest, I don’t like him. Our relationship dynamic is great because we hardly see each other and mostly chat. We’ve only had sex a handful of times. But he’s very jealous. He’s married, but he doesn’t want me to date anyone while with him. He even wants me to be a second wife, but I can’t do that. 

I need to have a lover my own age. I’m catching feelings for someone I’m seeing on the low, so I’ll probably break up with my sugar daddy later this year.

Have you considered how you might adjust to no longer receiving random money?

Yes. I’ll definitely miss his generosity. In December, he gave me ₦500k to spend and on New Year’s Day, he sent another ₦200k with a “Happy new year, baby” narration. 

I’ll miss him, and that’s why I’m trying to save. It won’t be easy to adjust, but I can make it work. My employer has also hinted at reviewing my salary to ₦100k next month. So, that’s good. 

Also, the guy I’m seeing on the low seems generous. He’s given me a few gifts, so I may have nothing to worry about.

Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

Maybe a mini solo vacation to Dubai. I’ve never travelled out of Nigeria, so that’s on my bucket list. I expect I’ll need like ₦12m to make that happen. 

How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1 – 10?

10. I don’t lack anything.

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

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