I’ve always been told I look exactly like my Mum. She was the first child of her parents and was so independent. She left home at age 14 years to her uncle’s place at Ibadan to learn what she loved to do most; hair making. She met my dad when she was 19 and then I came into the picture.
I am the 4th child in a family of 5 children. I thought my mum didn’t like me because I was the only child she made sure understood her business. Little did I know she was preparing me for the future.
It all started when I was 14. My mum would send me down to Togo to get her goods. When I was 15, I was already good at bringing in different items besides my mum’s goods like cars, frozen turkey and fairly used clothes. At age 16, my mum was diagnosed with cancer of the breast. At 18 years, after staying back 2 years to take care of her, she died.
I gained admission into a private university. When my mum died, I thought it was the end for me. I thought I was going to suffer and nobody could ever understand me like she did. To my surprise, my father turned out to be my best friend in disguise. He didn’t support my business but he watched me closely and sang my praises to his friends at church. He was always proud of me but he usually would not tell me to my face.
I didn’t think I could still cope with school. All I thought about in life was making money and my family. I started experiencing peer-pressure at the university. It was hard to blend with other girls of my age. My course mates called me godmother. Some school mates called me a bully, while my friends called me No-Nonsense. I never tolerated cheating from anyone and this made me gain self-esteem.
I was in need of extra cash apart from my monthly allowance from my dad, so I started what I know how to do best; business. I started the business of selling fairly used clothes from Togo with N5000 and when I was in my final year, my account balance was 300k. I was so proud of myself and thankful to God.