On The Money is a PiggyVest editorial series that explores the personal stories and lived experiences behind the data points in the annual Piggyvest Savings Report.
Peter A. moved to Lagos from the Republic of Benin as a teenager, looking to learn a skill and support himself. 22 years later, we talk to him about his journey working in skilled labour, his experience as an outsider living in Lagos and his worries for the future.
What is your name?
My name is Peter A., I’m 42 years old.
Tell us about your first job
I moved from the Republic of Benin, where I’m from, to Lagos to apprentice under a mechanic and learn the trade.
Why did you move to Lagos?
The Republic of Benin is a small country compared to Lagos, and for a young person who couldn’t go to university, Lagos is the kind of place where you can learn a skill and hustle. There are many Beninois working in Lagos, and it is easy to find someone who will take you as an apprentice if you are willing to work.
How long did you apprentice for?
I apprenticed for five years before I started earning a proper salary. I wasn’t just learning the work, I was also improving my English, which is very important if you want to work in Nigeria. French is what we speak primarily in the Benin Republic.
Five years is a long time to work and not earn a proper salary, how did you survive?
They would give me chop money for the weekends, and I would get tips from customers who were happy with my work.
So, after you graduated from the apprenticeship, did you start your own business?
No, I started working with my boss, servicing cars for his customers.
Were you treated any differently because you were not Nigerian?
Not at all, most people don’t even ask where I’m from. When they find out I’m from Benin, they often talk about how workers from Francophone West Africa behave better and do better at their jobs than workers from Lagos. When I apply for a job, and the employers find out I’m from Benin, they always prioritise me for the job.
How much were you earning under your mechanic boss?
I didn’t earn a salary. I was paid a commission based on the number of cars I serviced weekly. On average, I collected between N5,000 and N20,000 a week. I worked with him for a year before I left.
₦20,000 is a lot of money for 2008; adjusted for inflation, it would be about ₦254,000 a week today. Why did you leave?
As a mechanic, you get work by referral. My boss had been working for years and had many customers, and he was the one who referred his customers to me. He would stop giving me customers if he felt I wasn’t obedient or behaving how he liked. Sometimes, he would stress me by sending me to jobs that were very far away.
Where did you go after leaving?
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I joined a pure water factory as an in-house mechanic repairing their machinery and vehicles. It was a 24-hour job because the pure water business operates around the clock, and we needed to be able to deliver late at night and early in the morning.
How much did they pay as a salary, and how long did you work there?
They paid ₦40,000 a month as salary, and I worked there for two years.
Where did you go next?
Around this time, in 2012, I left the Purewater factory and started working as a driver for a woman who lived in Ketu, She paid ₦25,000 a month. I worked with her for one year before I left.
You changed jobs three times in four years. Why did you feel the need to keep moving so often?
I didn’t really leave any of these jobs because of money. I left because of the working situation. With the woman, I didn’t like my hours. She lived in Ketu, and I lived in Ikeja. When I closed by 11:30pm – 12 midnight, there would be no cars, so I would have to trek home from Ketu to Ikeja. With the pure water factory, the boss didn’t structure the business well and maltreated his workers, and the same was true for my mechanic boss.
Aha. Where did you go from there?
In 2012, I joined PW, an expatriate construction company, as a driver. I worked with a contractor who hired his vehicles to the company. He, too, began to maltreat me, so I left him to join the company full-time as a staff driver.
Up until this point, you had worked exclusively with small business owners or private employers. How did working for a big company change your relationship with money?
When I started working with PW, I started collecting a regular salary. I was finally able to save and plan. That year, I saved enough money to return home and marry. I got married in 2014 and had my first child at the end of 2014.
Having a family that quickly means your priorities change. How did you balance your work with your family?
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Keeping my family in the Benin Republic has helped to reduce my expenses. The money in Lagos used to have more value than the money in Benin, so I would send money to my family and visit home twice a year: for two weeks during Easter and then for a month in December.
Interesting. So, back to work. How is construction work different from other 9 – 5 jobs?
Construction work is very different from a 9 – 5 job, as every job is contract-based. While contracts might last years, once the job is done, the site is closed, and everyone is either laid off or you are transferred to another site if you are lucky. The best case is if the construction company gets another contract in the same state before their existing contract ends.
How much were you earning at this time?
My salary was ₦40,000 a month.
You were working as a full-time driver, but did you have any opportunities to supplement your income?
Yes, I was assigned to one of the company’s expatriate engineers. He usually needed me to drive him to work in the mornings, back to the life camp in the evenings, and more on the weekends. I had a lot of free time during the day, so I started working with Madam Mabel, a contractor who supplied raw materials for the construction. I started driving her as she collected materials from suppliers and delivered them to the construction site.
How long did you work with PW?
I worked with them from 2014 to 2018. Our original contract was in Lagos, and I worked there for three years until the Lagos contract ended. Then, a new contract started in Kaduna, and Madam Mabel was able to help me get a job with one of the engineers hired in Kaduna, so I moved from Lagos to Kaduna in 2016. I could move because Madam Mabel offered me accommodation and food and continued to offer me contract work on the side.
What was the contract work?
I approached her with a business proposal to start a poultry in the building where she accommodated me. She provided the capital, I managed the poultry, and we shared the profit. Eventually, Madam Mabel retired from contractor work after PW finished its project in Kaduna in 2017. I focused full-time on the poultry because I wasn’t ready to start again in another state.
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What happened then?
I managed the poultry until 2022, when a bird flu virus killed all the birds. Madam Mabel allowed me to continue working with her part-time as a driver while I found other work as a mechanic and driver. I’m still with her, 11 years later.
When was the last time you saw your family?
The last time I went to Benin was in 2023. Around that time, the naira became very weak against the CFA, and my money was no longer enough to visit the Benin Republic for a whole month, not working but spending money. I just send them the money for upkeep instead.
How much do you earn now?
Madam Mabel retired in 2017, so she pays me ₦50,000 to drive her around whenever she visits Kaduna. When she is not around, I still have free accommodation, feeding, and the freedom to use her car when necessary. She is usually in Lagos or outside the country for most of the year. When she isn’t around, I work other jobs to earn a living. I make around ₦80,000 from contract work each month, although occasionally I can make up to ₦150,000 – ₦300,000 if work is very good.
You have mentioned your madam several times throughout this interview. Why is your relationship with her so special?
Finding a good boss in Nigeria is very hard. It is why most people like me rarely stay in one job for very long, unless it is company work.
I would not have survived working in Lagos if not for my madam. I’m not a Lagosian; we don’t hustle in Benin Republic like there is no tomorrow. I could have charged more money, inflated my costs, or jumped from oga to oga looking for a bigger salary, but there is only so much you can do as a driver or mechanic before they start calling you greedy.
My madam is not rich, but she has never cheated me. I live in her boys’ quarters free of charge, I eat with her family, and she pays for my light and water. She genuinely cares about my family in Benin and doesn’t treat me like I’m just a driver. It was an easy choice for me.
You are 42 years old now, and you earned a lot more money in 2014. Do you worry about the future, especially your family back in Benin?
I worry a lot, but I know it could be much worse. Even with what I make here, I can still support my family in Benin. I was even able to raise enough money to bury my mother in 2022. Given that the choice is to stay and suffer with my children or leave and support them, I choose to support them.
But I’m worried that even though Nigerian money has become so bad, it is still much easier to hustle in Nigeria and make money than in Benin Republic. If things get really bad, I’ll just move back to Lagos and hustle.
How much do you send back to your family now each month?
I send them my entire salary from Madam and anything else I earn on top. I get free food and accommodation from her, which is what eats most people’s money in Nigeria, so once I remove N5,000 to N10,000 to hold in case of emergencies, I send them the rest, minimum ₦45,000 and sometimes, up to ₦190,000.
What was your last big purchase?
I didn’t have a phone for five months. The phone I was using was spoiled, but it was more important to send money to me. I told my madam’s son when he came for Christmas, and he surprised me with a London-used Samsung phone that cost ₦70,000.
What do you do for fun?
Fun is for people who have money. As long as I can buy a bottle of beer every other evening and I have light to watch films, I’m okay. Plus, I have a girlfriend in Kaduna. She keeps me company and doesn’t ask me for much, just my time.
If Lagos is where the money is, why haven’t you moved back there full-time yet?
I have been hustling on my own for almost 22 years, and I have been maltreated by many bosses in the past. It might be easier to hustle in Lagos, but I don’t have the energy to deal with Lagos’s craziness or the business owners’ bad behaviour there. Money isn’t everything, and it took me some time to realise that now I care more about my peace of mind.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to work to support my two children until they finish university and get good work. That is all I am working towards right now. The older one is 11 years old, and the younger one is 8 years old. I still have about 10 – 15 years to work. By the time the two of them graduate, I will be 58. I will return to my village and retire, we have a farm and a family house. Maybe I’ll restart my poultry business there.
