Every week,聽糖心原创 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鈥檒l be revealing.
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If the 34-year-old in this #NairaLife stopped working, she鈥檇 be fine. But even with free 鈧4.3m yearly and wealthy parents, she enjoys being independent while catching business owners who try to evade taxes.
What鈥檚 your earliest memory of money?
My grandma worked at CBN and used to bring home mint notes from work for me and my siblings. I was about five or six when this started, and it was so cool just holding new money, no matter how many times I got it.
When you say 鈥渂ring home鈥… You lived with her?
We lived in the family house owned by my paternal grandpa, which was a mansion. My nuclear family 鈥 dad, mum, me and three siblings 鈥 and two maids lived upstairs, and my grandma lived downstairs.
What did your parents do for a living?
My dad was a banker and my mum was an accountant.
Sounds like money all around
I didn鈥檛 notice how privileged I was until I got into boarding school when I was 10. In retrospect, I think my parents sent me there to see that there was another side to life. In primary school, my classmates were children of ministers and even governors, I had a driver, and I travelled during the summers.
In boarding school, I waited a whole week and ran out of clean clothes before I found out there was nobody coming to do my laundry. I had to learn to wash my own clothes. I had classmates whose parents were drivers and who lived in face-me-I face-yous.
When I was 13, we moved back to the UK.
Back?
I was born and spent my first five years there. We returned because that鈥檚 what my dad wanted.
So why did you go back at 13?
My mum ran away from my dad鈥檚 domestic violence. We waited for him to go to work one day and japa-d. Extended family tried to mediate, but they never got back together. We, his children, never stopped talking to him, and he came to stay with us in London a few times in a year. He also still sent money for school and upkeep throughout, so we were never in need of anything.
What was moving like?
I had to quickly learn independence. There was nothing like having a driver or being sheltered. I bused to school and had to run errands for my mum. I even got my first job as a sales assistant at 15. Not because we needed the money as a family. It鈥檚 just something many 15 and 16-year-olds in the UK do as their first job. I used my money to go out to the movies with my friends.
How long did you stay in the UK?
12 years. I returned to Nigeria in 2013, three years after university.
What was that like?
I came back for a wedding, and family members and friends kept telling me to move back, so I thought, 鈥淥kay鈥. When I got back to the UK, I told my mum, and she thought it was fine. My dad was excited I was coming to Nigeria to stay with him. So I quit my job and returned to Nigeria. The plan was to do NYSC first and decide what to do afterwards.
I鈥檓 so confused. First, you quit your job for Nigeria?
LOL. First of all, I was confused after uni. Then I saw a master鈥檚 in human resources programme and thought, 鈥淟et me try this鈥. When I told my dad, he said, 鈥淗R? what do you want to use HR for?鈥 And that鈥檚 how I decided not to do a master鈥檚 anymore.
Instead, I got a job on the marketing team of an advertising agency. My job was to help them ensure their campaigns were seen by as many people as possible. It鈥檚 not what I studied in uni, but I learnt on the job and did well at it.
I see. So, NYSC camp鈥
I just wanted to do it. And camp was so much fun. I鈥檇 go again if I had the chance.
After camp, Nigeria itself wasn鈥檛 so fun. It was frustrating. Like I moved from sanity to chaos. I had to learn to be sharp. People were scamming me because I seemed soft and new.
Welcome. Where did you work for NYSC?
They posted me to a school that would pay me 鈧8k a month, but my dad wasn鈥檛 having it, so he got me a job at Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) instead. This one paid 鈧25k monthly, and that was enough to see me through a month. I only needed the money to fuel my car. I lived with my dad, there was food at home, and I only went to work.
What did you do there?
Nothing. Corp members weren鈥檛 allowed to know too much about the operations because a lot of it is sensitive, so I just sat all day. They tried to retain me at the end of my one year there, but I rejected their offer. I was tired of Nigeria.
So you left again?
Yep. I moved back to London and got another marketing job almost immediately. After two months, I realised I actually preferred living in Nigeria. London was boring. The only thing it was offering was a structured society, nothing else. So I moved back to Lagos to look for work.
What did you find?
I met an NGO founder through a friend, and he hired me. His NGO helped small business owners get grants and funding, and I worked as his assistant. It was a lot of work for 鈧80k, but I did it to engage my brain. Again, I didn鈥檛 need money for survival. I had everything I needed at home. If I needed extra money for anything like flight tickets or car problems, I saved towards it.
Have you ever had to work for money to survive?
Not yet, no.
What鈥檚 that like?
It means I never have to feel tied down to a job. If I ever feel like something is not right for me, I鈥檒l leave. I know I鈥檒l be fine.
After about a year at the NGO, I quit.
Why?
I had to do some travelling with my mum and siblings. Just to unwind.
When I returned to Nigeria, I started thinking about getting a long-term job so I could be a bit more settled. From the conversations I had with friends, the two major jobs that stood out were banking and federal parastatal jobs. Top of that list was Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Banking was a no-no for me. It just seemed like slavery having to do so much high-intensity work and be under pressure all my life. And I also heard banks sometimes hired people based on their looks. I didn鈥檛 want to be a professional call girl.
What of FIRS?
It seemed much better. I heard people got promoted when they were meant to, without politics, and the working environment was welcoming. So I decided to apply to work there. In the months before I got the job, I interned at an accounting firm for 鈧35k a month. Sometime in 2018, I started work there, and that鈥檚 where I鈥檝e been since.
What do you do?
I鈥檓 a tax collector. There are different ways the government collects taxes from companies that don鈥檛 want to pay. I don鈥檛 look at companies鈥 tax records and reach out to them directly. My job is to look for loopholes and make business owners pay their taxes. For example, when business owners want to get visas, they have to submit their business accounts to show proof of funds. If they don鈥檛 pay tax, we鈥檒l know and reach out to them. It鈥檚 really interesting work because I get to see people try their best to try and outsmart the law.
How much do you earn?
I earn the same thing I鈥檝e earned since I joined 鈥 鈧280k. I also get some bonuses, but as part of company policy, I鈥檓 not allowed to talk about them. I鈥檓 due for a promotion soon. Fingers crossed.
Would you say you鈥檙e financially independent?
I鈥檝e not had to ask for money for many years. Apart from living with my dad, I鈥檝e handled every other aspect of my finances since I began working. I鈥檝e thought about moving out, but my very Nigerian father has many issues with it, and I don鈥檛 want wahala, so I guess I鈥檓 not moving out yet. For car issues, travel or whatever other trouble, I handle them all myself.
Is your job your only source of income?
Up until two years ago, yes. After that, my siblings and I started receiving rent from properties my dad and grandma own. My dad has two apartments that bring 鈧2m each, and my grandma鈥檚 apartment brings 鈧300k. So that鈥檚 鈧4.3m at the end of every year for the past two years.
Do you do any investments?
A few months ago, if you mentioned investments around me, we would鈥檝e fought. I lost 鈧6m to agro partnerships last year. That鈥檚 the end of any investments for the foreseeable future for me. Now, I just save in dollars.
Is there anything you want but can鈥檛 currently afford?
Nah. I don鈥檛 desire a lot of things. If I want something, I plan and save towards buying it.
I鈥檇 love to see what you spend money on
How financially happy are you on a scale of 1-10?
5. If I could get the 鈧6m I lost, I鈥檇 probably be at a 10. Other than that, I鈥檓 pretty grateful to have the family and privileges I do.
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