Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.
When did you first realise the importance of money?
I was 11 years old, and my seat mate in my JSS 1 class showed me a ₦500 note. It was her lunch money. I was so shocked.
This was in 2012, so ₦500 wasn’t really a big deal, but we used that same amount to eat for a whole week at home. It was the first time I realised there are levels to this money thing.
Your family survived on ₦500 per week?
Yes, we were the poorest of the poor. I grew up in Benue, and my parents were farmers. Our daily meals consisted of pounded yam and watery groundnut soup. We only ate meat if our neighbours caught bushmeat and shared it with us. When my dad caught bushmeat, he’d sell his catch for extra money.
My education would’ve stopped at primary school like my siblings’. Fortunately, my aunt — she’s actually more like a distant family friend — had a baby and needed someone to assist her. My parents volunteered me, and I moved to Lagos to live with her in 2012. My aunt sent me to secondary school, and I stayed with her until I ran away in 2019.
Why did you run away?
Her husband was trying to sleep with me. He bought me clothes and often gave me money to “toast” me. When my aunt noticed he had a soft spot for me, she responded by regularly beating me for the slightest reason. I ran away when I grew tired of the situation. I didn’t tell my parents the real reason I left, though. I only told them I wanted to hustle.
I moved in with my boyfriend, who helped me get a bar waitressing job. It was my first job, and it paid ₦25k/month. I didn’t even enjoy the money because it was paid into my boyfriend’s account for the first three months.
I didn’t have a bank account, so we submitted his details when I started the job. The agreement was that he’d give me my salary once he collected it, but he started telling me stories about how he had to “borrow” my money to settle one bill or the other. He never gave me a dime.
The heck?
I didn’t complain because I was doing “lover girl”. Thankfully, a friend I made at work spoke sense into me and marched me to a bank to open my own account. When my boyfriend didn’t receive my next salary, he got angry and slapped me. That’s how the relationship ended.
Good riddance. Where did you go after you left?
I squatted at my friend’s and her siblings’ tiny flat. Her elder sister was a tailor, and I started assisting her to pay back their kindness in accommodating me. I’d run errands when I returned home from work, cut materials and pick styles for clients who needed help.
That’s how I realised I had a knack for styling people. Like, I just look at someone and can imagine what will fit them. I might have gotten some of that skill from my aunt. She was a fashionista who hardly repeated clothes. I lived for getting her hand-me-downs so I would experiment with different items and see if they matched.
If you’d asked me in secondary school what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d tell you I just wanted to have a wardrobe full of clothes.
I mean, it makes sense
I left my bar job in November 2019 for another job at a club. I was a bottle service girl and worked weekends. My job was to wear a bikini and bring out bottles when VIP guests bought expensive bottles. My pay was ₦80k/month, but I earned up to ₦20k in tips every single week.
Horny men like to spend money, and drunk horny men spend even more. I just had to flirt with them, drop my number or just allow them to touch me a little. Sometimes, I hooked up with customers, but it was only because I wanted to, not that my job forced me to.
Omo, that job opened my eyes. Money dey this world o. Guys would come to the club and drop ₦800k – ₦1m on drinks in one sitting. The girls were the most interesting to me — they only had to look pretty and gum body with the guys who brought them, dance a little, and they’d get cash bundles.
What were your financial responsibilities like at this time?
Mostly my parents and siblings. I sent at least ₦50k to them monthly. I was also saving because I hoped to get my own apartment. Then COVID happened, and the club temporarily shut down. I had no source of income and relied on my savings.
I’d love to say I spent the lockdown productively and learned new skills, but it’d all be a lie. I lazily scrolled through social media most of the time. However, lockdown helped me build the foundation of what I do now. I constantly participated in dance and transition video challenges on social media, which grew my followers.
I also started following in the footsteps of Instagram influencers and posting cute “unaware” pictures with fine backgrounds. It was hard to do this from a room I shared with three people, but I made it work.
When activities resumed in 2021, I returned to the club. I expected my pay to increase, but my employer refused to pay more than ₦80k. I no longer thought ₦80k was good money, even with tips, so I started looking for other options.
What did you find?
I tried to find work at another club, but they also wanted me to work on weekends, which didn’t work for my schedule. So, I decided to learn tailoring from my friend’s sister. She seemed to be making a lot of money from it, so I thought it’d be a great side income opportunity.
Four months into my “apprenticeship”, my friend’s sister got an opportunity to make a dress for a rich Lekki babe. She wanted to appear professional, so she carried me along and told the client I was a stylist. My job was essentially to create the whole look: suggest colours, style and accessories to pull it all together.
My friend’s sister and I ended up making three dresses for the client, and I made ₦180k from the deal. I felt cheated because we charged the client ₦500k for styling, but I kept it moving and decided to get my own styling gigs.
How did that go?
It wasn’t as easy as I expected. I DM’ed several influencers, offering to style them and got almost no responses. The only person who responded said, “You really expect me to hire someone whose IG feed is filled with selfies?” I nearly got offended, but she was right. Before people can believe you can do something, you must show workings.
So, I decided to invest in myself. I started buying high-end clothes and posting pictures of my outfits on social media. I also deliberately started pursuing friendships with the girls who hung out at the club. From these girls, I learned that most of them use personal shoppers to get the designer boxes and packaging they always show off on Instagram.
Boxes?
Yeah. You know how an influencer can post a picture of Chanel boxes, implying that she bought designer bags? Sometimes, those boxes are empty and just for the gram. Other times, the bags inside are imitation Chanel, but the packaging makes them look legit.
I used these designer item props to build my online image as a personal stylist and shopper. I also aggressively pushed my brand to girls I met at the club, and it paid off. I got my first client in 2022; I procured an original Van Cleef bracelet for her and made a ₦100k profit.
By 2024, business was coming in regularly enough to quit my job at the club. My salary had grown to ₦120k and I made up to ₦50k weekly in tips, but the job was no longer a good look for me. No one would take a stylist who danced and served drinks at the club seriously.
What’s your income like these days?
Styling and personal shopping are my primary income sources, but the figures are all over the place. Sometimes, I make ₦100k from one client for the whole month. Other times, I can make ₦800k.
I don’t have any clients on retainer, and there are more popular stylists than me in this city, so business is often hard. Most of the time, I rely on my boyfriend to survive the month. He typically pays for food and some of my maintenance bills (nails, lashes and hair). My sugar daddy also sends me ₦300k every two or three months, which helps a little.
How would you describe your relationship with money?
My relationship with money is just vibes. I live way above my means because I need to look like I have it together to access places where I can meet potential clients. Lagos babes determine how seriously they should take you by how you look; I can’t approach someone for business if my lace wig is lifting.
No matter how broke I am, I must do my hair twice a month, buy clothes and go out to fancy restaurants with my friends.
By the way, I moved out of my friend’s flat in 2024 and now pay an annual rent of ₦1.8m for a shared apartment because I need to live on the Island to be closer to potential clients.
Honestly, it’s difficult to maintain my standard of living, but I have to spend money to make money in my line of work. It’s a necessary sacrifice.
Speaking of, what does your typical month in expenses look like?
Half of the time, I don’t know how money enters my account. Money just comes. I try to save ₦20k/month but often spend it before the month ends. I also don’t know how I’ll make my next rent; I just know I will survive.
Out of curiosity, do you think you’ll continue offering styling and shopping services in the long term?
My ultimate goal is to become a fashion and lifestyle influencer. Then, I can make money from brand deals and no longer have to chase after clients. I figure my current job is a good path to that goal. If more people get to know about me and what I do, I can transition into influencing. Fingers crossed that’ll happen within the next three years.
Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?
A car. People afford others with more respect when they see them with their cars. I don’t intend to save towards getting a car sha. For how long will I save to make ₦10m – ₦20m? I just need to meet the right person who can buy it for me, or get a huge contract so I can pay for it outright.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?
4. I know I’ve come a long way from where I used to be, but I need so much more. I can’t be happy until I start dealing with millions of naira and dollars.
If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.
Find all the past Naira Life stories here.
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