After NYSC, I moved to Lagos from the East. It was a step of faith and luckily I got a job with a nonprofit organisation. I was staying with an Aunt at the time and one day we had a misunderstanding. It got heated, and I snapped back. Later, I apologised and she accepted it. This happened in December. When she was about to travel for Christmas, she woke me up and told me to leave the house before she returns.
I had nowhere else to go. She had a daughter on the Island but the lady said she couldn’t accommodate me because of her Mom.
Thankfully, my cell unit leader and his family took me in. It was a tough time, and I was hurt, but I found I kept declaring that everything was going to work out for my good.
When I told my dad about it, it shocked him that my Aunty never talked to him about it. With the support of friends and colleagues, I was moving from house to house almost throughout the year. I was saving and trusting God for my own accommodation. One day, someone dropped a message on a WhatsApp group chat about a company that needed models. The pay was ₦150,000. I wasn’t so confident about it. My colleague encouraged me and even took my laptop and sent them a mail with my pictures. In a few minutes, they got back to me.
Before that gig, the money I had saved for rent wasn’t even up to ₦100,000 so it really made a difference. I spoke with a leader in the organisation I work with and he told me to go house-hunting and let him know how much I needed to complete the rent. I did that and the organisation gave me the difference I needed. That was how I got my first house in Lagos.
Earlier this year, I went to visit my aunt. She kept going on about how she expected more from me as a Christian. To her, I was still bearing a grudge against her. For me, even if I decided not to be close to her anymore, I had since forgiven her but that visit brought it all back. It gave me sleepless nights. The visit opened up wounds that made me feel terrible. Maybe I’m still learning about forgiveness.
Altogether, God has really been faithful. There’s a big difference between the person who came to Lagos and who I am now. I’m grateful for the gift of people.