Profile
Gender: Female
Country of Residence: United Kingdom
Profession: Program Managment Office Executive
Why did you leave your home country?
Because that’s what everyone was doing at that time.
Oh really?
Well, maybe not entirely. As I grew up, anytime I thought of my future, I never saw myself in Nigeria. Even people around me always said “Look you don’t you don’t belong here” and I have always thought that way. So when the time came, I moved to the UK.
Why the UK though? Why not somewhere else?
I don’t know. I’d never been to America or any other country before then so nowhere else appealed to me. Everyone talks about America as the place to be, you know the land of opportunities, but I still don’t see it as a place to live. I have a British Passport now and still haven’t visited the country.
Anyway, I was set on the UK and the UK it was.
So how did you come to the UK? I mean what route?
School. I came in for a master’s degree.
I remember paying an agency N40,000 (£176) to help facilitate the application process. This was in 2006. But before then I remember spending at least 6 months of the year at a cybercafe researching various schools (this was the days when internet-enabled homes were not so common).
Because my dream career was to travel the world as an international broadcasting agent or something of that sort I kept searching for schools that could offer International relations or international development. Or anything related to it. I found several schools and then engaged the agency to help me put together the application, guide me through the personal statement etc. And I got admission to two of the schools.
Funny story; I chose the school to go to because it was near France. When I was doing all that research at the cybercafe I remember seeing that the school I chose was near the beach so I would get seaside views. And the proximity of France nailed it for me because I could speak some small French then.
Please ask me how many times I went to France?
Zero?
Yep! I never went to France but it was good to know it was nearby.
And of course, this was funded by Daddy and Mommy 100%?
Yep, 100% funded by Daddy which I am entirely grateful for.
You are in the UK and in school. Did you have to work during school?
Remember I said I got admission in 2006? I didn’t get to go to school till 2007. In 2006, Daddy had some money issues so he said to me, “I can’t afford to send you to school abroad now so defer your admission for the next year”. I was devastated but It worked in my favor because the next year he said “Let me make it up to you, how much is everything you will need including upkeep for the entire duration of your course?”. So I went on the school website and you know they always have that “typical international students should expect between this and this in upkeep cost”. I took the higher end of the recommended amount and gave my dad.
He gave me the entire amount. I mean the entire school fees sum and the entire upkeep for the year. Not sure that was a good idea looking back now. I was going to be living on my own for the first time in another country and I was awash with cash. I went all out in choosing my accommodation, and paying for the welcome package (you know those packages where they had pots, pans, plates, sheets, etc so you don’t have to buy anything once you arrive). Nobody was checking on me concerning how I was managing the money given to and having so much money all at once was unusual for me.
I was on a spending spree.
I went to school in September and by May of the following year, I realized I didn’t have money that would take me into September which was when I would finish school. I realized I had been buying rubbish. Food, Clothes I didn’t need and didn’t wear, just absolute nonsense.
When Daddy gave me the money he told me very firmly, this is it, and no more. I am a very proud person so the thought of going back to him to ask for more jarred me.
I stopped buying nonsense and became very prudent. And I started co-buying things with my friends in bulk so we could share. I also discovered eBay and I used the platform to sell off all the unnecessary things I accumulated; it was not a lot of money but it all came together to make something.
Then I got a job as a call center agent with a bank and boom, I went back to my old ways. I was in a “Oh I have money, I am comfortable so need to be living like a pauper.” mentality all over again. And remember I was still in school with my accommodation and bills paid. So hey, what is money for if not spending? My friends and I were just doing a lot of big girls’ spending, nothing crazy, but just unnecessary and unchecked spending.
No savings. Just spending.
And then I needed to make a trip to Nigeria and the ticket was just £300. Guess what I could not afford it! I mean just £300. I had to put the ticket on my credit card and I eventually paid back £1,500 over a year or something. That was a turning point.
I said to myself “you know what you can do better this girl, come on! what are you doing?”
So I started a savings culture again. I told myself I must have money somewhere or something for any unplanned cost.
How long were you in that customer service job?
Not long after I finished the masters program I lost that bank job. I had sighed when speaking to a customer on the phone and that became a disciplinary action. That made them start digging further into my employment. Guess what? they had been overpaying me and that also became a bigger issue.
What do you mean by overpaying you?
As a student, I was working 20 hours right. However, someone made a mistake when onboarding me and uploaded my details into the system as a full staff. So I was getting full pay while working part-time hours. Honestly, I didn’t know, I was just too excited to be collecting what I thought was a lot of money back then.
So they brought that up too and called me into a meeting. The meeting went something like this “You resign and we will not ask you to repay all the money. Or you remain and you will need to pay back all the extra money”
I resigned. I didn’t have any money to pay back.
Knowing what I know now, I could have sued them and won but I was a novice.
Around this time too I had moved into a flat-share with a couple of friends. I was broke and things became so bad I couldn’t pay my rent.
oh wow
I had to take in a lodger who was willing to sleep on the floor in my room but pay rent like a full tenant. This happened for three months, wonderful girl I met on one of those many microsites back then. With her payment, I was able to at least pay my rent.
Then one day one of my flatmates and friends said to me “we really can’t continue like this. We should consider taking up a care support role”.
In those three months, I had been tirelessly looking for a job with no joy. In fact I was willing to do anything to survive at this point. So at the point my friend suggested a care job I was desperate plus I was somewhat encouraged we would do it together because we had both been out of a job for months.
I was on that job for about 9 months and it was one of the worst periods of my life. No offense to those who currently do the job but too many gory stories. My friend who started with me didn’t last three months. She quit one day when she got to a client’s home and saw the woman fell down a night before almost dead. She could not get back up and didn’t get help till my friend arrived in the morning.
I kept searching for other roles. I was looking for any role and ever so slowly that dream career of international broadcasting or whatever was out of the window. I became “realistic” because I told myself it was never going to happen. I mean people with similar roles started internships and volunteering as far back as their teenage days, you could say I was late to the “party”. I even tried volunteering with Oxfam to boost my chances. Nothing clicked!
9 months later I got another call center/customer service role with Legal and General Pensions company. They called me on a Friday to schedule an interview for Monday, had the interview on Monday morning and by evening I was informed I got the role. First thing on Tuesday morning I resigned from the care support role.
You didn’t even wait?
Wait for what? I had to get out fast!
So how long did you stay in this call center role?
5 years.
What!
Yep, five years.
I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life at this point. I met my husband while at this job, got married, and had my first child within that period. I became very complacent. Honestly, it wasn’t because I didn’t try; I did everything within my means to get a new job; I tried to move to other departments in the insurance company but was never chosen for roles. I got diverse certifications including Prince2. I remember a conversation with one of my managers then who got to know I had a prince2 certification. He said, “What are you doing here? With this certification you should be doing bigger things”. I said I’m asking myself the same question.
And he did try to connect me with some leaders in the organization. I even tried a mentorship program and I was told I was doing all the right things. But nothing came out of it.
Around this time, my elder sister who also lived in the UK was asking me, “Aunty what is the plan? You can’t continue like this”.
It was a frustrating period.
Eventually, I resigned with no job in place.
O!
Yeah, remember I was married at this point. My husband was now a permanent resident and no longer tied to his employers in that area because they had sponsored his resident permit for work. He wanted to explore getting a job somewhere else and jointly we agreed we had outlived where we were, we needed something new. It was just a good time for me to resign and think through what I wanted to do next.
It’s funny thinking about it now. I am very very good at driving people to achieve their goals. Because I was on my husband’s case to get ahead in his career, I pushed him to take more certifications, aim for senior roles etc. I pushed to the point he became the first ever black person to attain a most sought-after certification in his field. I was his greatest cheerleader all the way.
But guess what, pushing myself was very difficult. I just wasn’t picking up myself. I struggled to give myself that much-needed push.
What did you do next?
After we moved, I was home for about nine months or so. Not up to a year but not less than 9 months. You can imagine the pressure on our finances on a single income; child care nursery, bills etc. My husband had to go “Babes, time is going. What is the plan?”
Then I got a job! I remember feeling so excited not just about the job but the pay. It was a £27k pay package. I felt on top of the world.
Remember this is me who was paid £19k per annum for so long, this jump felt like a big deal! It was a small boutique company. I was the only girl on the team with mainly developers & client services guys. I enjoyed my time there.
That job was the beginning of multiple jumps in my pay.
What do you mean?
I stayed in that role for about 7 months and then went on maternity leave, great employers because I was paid maternity pay in that period. I resumed and only stayed for 4 months.
Not loyal. Hahaha
Well, I got a better offer. Plus my sister used to say something “Move to London or at least look for jobs in London. The perspective of the people there is very different and enlightened.
She was right.
Capita gave me an offer as a permanent staff with a £15k increase in my pay. So I was now earning £42k per annum still as a project coordinator but on a bigger scale now.
You can imagine at this time I felt like I was crushing it, I am making big money. Until I discovered the world of contracting while at my time in Capita. Some of my contractor colleagues were talking about their pay (as they always do). We were doing the same job and their pay was significantly higher than mine. I quickly became friends with them and asked them to show me the ropes.
A few months later I got my first role as a contractor, £450 per day with the Department of Education.
So you can say I went from £27k to £108,000k in about 2 years plus.
Wow
Yeah I hit the jackpot because I have not looked back since then. In fact funny story, when I was leaving my role at Capita, I was transparent with my manager at my exit interview as to why I was leaving: I am doing the same job as these other guys and they are paid much more. I wanted that for myself. Thankfully she saw where I was coming from.
So after that my initial role at the Department of Education, that my manager called me for another role at Capita this time as a contractor with an increased day rate.
Now you are officially balling!
Yeah you can say so. Hahaha
What has been your highest day rate since then?
£650
How your life has changed financially! I know you bought a house, sold it, and moved to a bigger place and then again to a bigger place. Are you still saving and now investing?
Savings, well my husband will say no. There are a lot of financial responsibilities now with two kids. Their expenses just never stop. At least for now.
Going back to my initial years, I know for sure if I had done a better job at saving those days when I had no responsibility, I am pretty sure I would have achieved more financial goals eg buying a house as a single girl.
But I know I am religiously putting money aside every month. Maybe I can do more but I save and also do ajo (group savings with a few of my friends).
Investing; not as much as I would like to, to be honest.
Last question, looking back at your own story what would you say to any new immigrant now?
Surround yourself with the right people! I can’t say this enough. The people you have around you is a reflection of who you are or what you are about to become. A while back I went to Peckham to visit my friend’s family for a few days and I felt so out of place. No offense to those who live there but I am glad I didn’t end up because I am pretty sure I will not be achieving some of the things I have been able to. Its a whole different world in that side of the country.
So choose very very wisely the people you will surround yourself with.
Another thing I will say to them is, to have a plan! Please don’t come with a “we will see how it goes”. That is not a plan! Please at the very least have funds to last you for the first 6 months, detail what you will do if you don’t have a job; will you go back home or stay the course?
Sometimes remaining at home country might be a better plan.
Very last question. What is your biggest financial goal?
Father lord from the mouth of your daughter, I need enough money to renovate the new house we just bought. I mean my own standard of renovation and not my husband’s standard. Because left to him we can move in its state. Men!
Hahaha.
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