Can debts be thicker than blood?
In a typical Nigerian home, the father is the breadwinner. For Olaitan, the first child of her family, this was not the case. She learnt to sort her own bills from a tender age. Hers is a story of a family that took more than it gave. Read on.
What’s your oldest memory of being financially independent?
When I was in Primary 2, I made Eve drinks inside those small nylons for sale so I could pay my lesson fees. I was 10 years old at the time. I did it for three years till the school authorities caught me 😂.
Doings! Wait, did you say 10 years-old in Primary 2?
Yes, I had a very late start in education. My parents didn’t really value education like that. My pastor (bless his soul) talked to a missionary that sponsored me till I finished my senior secondary school.
Are you an only child?
No, I have a sister.
Okay. How was getting a higher education like for you?
It was hard. No way to butter it up. I delved into a lot of businesses to pay for my schooling. The main one was my underwear business. I hustled day and night. Now, I’m a B.Tech holder. God has been faithful.
Wow. You mentioned a sibling, what about her schooling?
I had to raise her too. I dragged her anywhere and everywhere in this quest for success o. Tinu wanted to dry my blood; it’s not easy to raise an adolescent. Taking care of her and myself was overwhelming.
Did your parents not help out at all?
My parents? Let’s just say they are still waiting to enjoy fruits of their children’s labour–children they didn’t train. They almost ruined my sister’s life sef.
Ruin, how?
It started with my parents spending her tuition fee. I sent it directly to her school once I found out.
When that channel was blocked, they told my sister (who was only 14 years-old at the time) to start making money. Eventually, Tinu was introduced to virtual betting through her school mate.
She started out by borrowing cash from her classmates until she became a pro. By the time Tinu clocked sixteen, she was owing older people money. I don’t know how she managed to convince them to lend her such amounts of money.
I was unaware as all of this happened.
So, how did you find out?
The cat got out the bag when my little sister graduated to borrowing from loan apps. Apparently she used my pin to borrow money. But she listed my dormant line as her guarantor’s number so it took a while before I suspected anything. I knew something was up when I started getting strange debits. I kept procrastinating going to the bank till policemen paid me a hostile visit.
Police, was it that bad?
Bad? It was the worst thing ever. The police issue coincided with my apartment hunting. My belief was the money I saved would cover till I got the shocker of my life. Dear Tinu had accrued half a million gbese.
What did you do?
See, I’m not one to spare the rod. I flogged her, I cried, I threatened to kill her and kill myself. We both cried and then clarity came.
How did you pay off the debt?
Yes. I started cleaning hostels for people and would tell her to come meet me at any venue after she finished her Jamb tutorials. If you are smart enough to use my pin to borrow money, you better be good at scrubbing tiles, sis.
Anyways, my breakthrough came in 2020.
Really? Let’s hear it
Someone from my school introduced me to smart contracting for crypto, quite a cool business. I believe it was Godsent. Little by little, I was able to pay over half of the debts off my first month working for these crypto people.
Second month, the debt remained like 20 thousand naira, I couldn’t be any more glad. I don’t even remember how we paid that 20k. But we are free. Completely. Tinu is presently pursuing her MSc in Nursing, at OAU.
#PeopleTalk is a submissions segment for everyday people to talk straight about the twists and turns of everyday life. This edition covers the story of a young lady who carried the financial weight of her life and family from age 10.
