(Part 1/2) The year, 2006 was a significant one. I was 18 years old and had just finished my diploma. I was so excited to go home for my IT. I got home and was told that my mum had been physically & mentally abused by her mom & step siblings and it had affected her mental health. She’d been in hospital for weeks. I remember praying, crying and drinking garri everyday with my siblings. There was no father, uncle or aunt to support us. 

Weeks later, she got a bit better, but her mom and step siblings came back, even after they had been sent packing by my mum’s boss. They made the house hell on earth. They would abuse us, fight themselves and torment me. I really had no idea why they hated me so much and made my life miserable. We were told by the doctor not to bother my mum for money, so we had to manage. I was lucky to have started my IT in a bank, so I earned some money. 

Months after my IT, I got retained in the bank as a contract staff. I was so happy because the only place I found peace was in the office. My mum got posted to Lagos and I refused to go with her due to the fact that my grandma and extended relatives were going to stay with her too. I was just sick and tired of their many troubles, plus I was enjoying my work at the time. I had to rent a place to stay on my own since I was not moving to Lagos with them. At that point, the hustle started for me. 

I was 19 years old and still naïve but was so much into my work. Three years later, my uncle, aunt and mum came to disturb me at my office. They had manipulated my mum into taking me to Lagos by force. I refused on several occasions to go with them. Eventually, they told my boss some lies and I had to resign but I still refused to follow them. That year I became jobless & helpless and on two occasions almost committed suicide because I just got tired of life.