weblord1900:
So 7+years ago I made this post seeking advice on a journey I was to embark on.
.
First of all pardon my English,
I'm here again to share my experience over the years of my apprenticeship and also the process. I know it's not all part of this country practice this system. It's more prevellent in the east.
For me there has been up and down and mostly down. This is something you can never understand until you personally experience it.. It will reshape your entire life especially your mind whether you like it or not.

I left my village by June to meet my Oga in the city. I spent 6months as testing. Like the first 6months were not counted as part of the agreement. I was even lucky because some spend 1year as testing. So I started in 2017 after agreement. This type of agreement just involve your oga coming to meet your parents with few eyewitnesses.. No lawyer or paper to sign. Just verbal agreement ,No fixed price .. They'll only discuss on how long you will work for him or her( the oga or madam).

When I started my Oga is still single so I was doing most of the works in the house including cooking .. We were living very happy .. I was eating very well .if you look at me then the evidence is there 😀 Sometimes my oga will come back with full fried chicken oh oh.. Only me and him .. Things where just smooth ..
Fast forward to 2019 my oga decided to my settle down.. I think I use like 4years senior my oga wife. At the first few months his wife was very angelic,calm and gentle. She serve us tea every morning..
Omo how she take change I don't know 🙆🏾‍♂️ I no offend anybody .. I'm very calm in nature .. My oga follow change too. Nobody day send me again ..

During 2020 covid 19 my eyes saw my ears .. I know things was hard then but mine was hard pro max. From 2018 I started suffering from chronic tonsillitis. I was taking drugs up and down including self medication .. I started noticing change from the way I speak because I don't know if it's the drug or the sickness that's affecting me .. I had no one to tell. By 2021 I gathered courage and told my oga 😪.. He carry me go meet aboki people make he carry scissors chop the two damaged tonsils in my throat .. Them just day price am 3k 5k I day one side day shed tears 😭 . I called someone and told him about everything. He told my oga to take me to a good hospital. The story long sha but at the end I went under tonsillectomy surgery .. I'm now fine

By 2023 which is supposed to be my last year my oga carry another problem come.. The way he was treating me caused problems between some of his brother and sister including some of his friends because they don't like the way he was treating me. They were all encouraging and giving me advice to persevere because I'm almost through its just a temptation.
I was settled this February with wetin my mouth not fit talk after serving for 7year chai😭 🤦. You can't even rent a shop with here with the amount I received. I haven't talked about buying the goods in this period every price has sky rocketed. I thank my family and friends it's all good.

Life is a journey ..I still have more opportunities ahead of me. I have seen more than 20 other people that have come to serve but didn't finish. Most of them doesn't last for 2years but I persist because I'm determined for success. With this energy nothing can stop me.

Let me tell you some key points in this system.
1. They don't tell you how much you'll receive at the end. Just be ready to take what you see.
2. It will greatly affect your mental health positively or negatively depending on how you are being treated.
3. There will be alot of temptations and peer pressure if you're not careful you'll be dismissed.
4. If at the end your oga decides not to settle you ,that's all for you. He cannot be procecuted by any law since there is no signed agreement.
5. You'll be blamed for some wrong things you didn't do.
6. There are some common thing you won't be allowed to do.. Like voting during election or going to the football field to play with your friends. You can only be at home or shop.
7. For example if you agreed to work for 5years you might see yourself still working for him after 7years with no settlement. I have seen lot of them.

I'm going to be 28 next month. I have seen and experience more, this is all I can say for now. I can't say i am at loss or profit here because I cherish the experience I gained over the year although I didn't get the finance which made to start the journey at the beginning. If I had money I would have just learn the business for less than a year and start my own but such is life. Some of my classmates are doing well while others never see food chop. Some of the females are married with 2 to 3 children. Mine isn't the worst tho. This life no balance.
I just hope this government make things easy for everybody. E come reach my turn to hustle everywhere come red 🔴😂 ..

I thank Se.un for Nairaland o.. Na here I day come read everything including the cruise, bash and banter. SE.UN abeg check if my story na front page material 😁

Thank God for your life, at least you can still tell the story but moving forward when you start your own business and someone is also serving you, do what is right. Let make this world a better place for one and other

He paid for your surgery and still settled you. Face front and hussle.

Draggun:


Fine, things are much better now than before. I might not be where I want to be but I am no longer where I was.

I pray that doors of opportunities be opened for you, and may God restore the years that you have lost, and connect helpers to you.

Keep praying, doing what you're doing, and connecting to God.

MadamExcellency:
People don't know how much the contacts and connections are worth. It's not about the capital. It's about the connections and connections.

I wanna disagree a bit.

Connections rarely gets him started. He has to set up shop before the connection can work for him.
He needs capital first.

Only the brave and the courageous does it

fuckingAyaya:
every oga was once a boy. That is the system of apprenticeship, even the bible approved it.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, is that you?

gaby:
Your oga will come to you for help in no distant time and it could be a life/death situation.

Believe.

Congratulations to you @OP one you are free from serving your Oga and his family 2 you did not end up in jail or sacked or even used for ritual, to God be all the glory.

Thank your God he did not used his wife to set you up and eventually kicked you out cos of that we have seen and heard so many stories like that .

I know many boys who was uselessed by their Oga in so many ways.

Take it as if you used that 7 years to learn the trade, now try and build your network with God on your side sky will be your starting point I’m a living example.

I served for nearly five years for agreement of 6 year, my Oga knows the game he was playing but he did not appear to be noticed he rather used his brother who is way too old than me to create problems as an ally by. But I thanked God almighty who saw me trough I was given NGN 10,000 as settlement in the early 90s on electronics business when my co boys was being settled with 100 to 200k then some with a shop but today I’ve settled my boys with millions of naira although not on the same line of business.

At times is not about how much you were given but the heart which it was given. Trust in God Your wealth is in what you got in your brain not the naira on your hand.

Sctests:


Is that the only thing you took from the piece? Were you out hunting for 'bad news' with your antennas high up there because of your prejudiced bias and idiosyncrasies.

May we know your tribe?

Pfft😏

government are not helping... but people are still cashing out millions from this hard economy. check out this eye opening video


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5UbdJPQbOg

toujurs:
Women are destroyers, of men. The same way eve destroyed the relationship between God and adam.

I'm not even surprised.

3k,5k? 🤣, You really suffered.

This is why, no tribe can ever beat an igbo man, when it comes to entrepreneurship, that shege banza, they have seen it all, that wickedness, that intimidation and little capital, you can imagine work as a slave for someone for 7 years and be setted with 800k. Moat don't even see up to 800k.

Yet an igbo man will turn that 800k to a billion naira, in the next 10 years.

You can't defeat the undefeated. People are really going through alot. After all these pain, and anguish he went through, one over night ashawo, will come to offer him, an over stretched coochie, for the rest of his life. Because he now made money.

Men should better wise up. Never settle for less.

I no sabi weda 1m for other parts of Nigeria na 1billi for east.

UnimkeAk:


I no sabi weda 1m for other parts of Nigeria na 1billi for east.

shatapp your mouth, olori buruku nie.

Hater! See as your tribal bigotry, has gotten a whole country into misery.

mariahAngel:




I pray that doors of opportunities be opened for you, and may God restore the years that you have lost, and connect helpers to you.

Keep praying, doing what you're doing, and connecting to God.

Amen, thank you so much for the kind wishes and prayers. God bless you.

TrackerSK:
That your last statement about igbo men been weak is true.My cousin brother is staying with me,and I am the one sponsoring him even before I got married.When I got married, my wife wanted to influence me negativity against my brother.I tried talking to her but she refused.She told me to choose between she and my brother.I choose my brother and this got her angry,she started hitting me and also raining insults at me.I ignored her,but when she start insulting my parents that was when I gave her a resounding slap to reset her brain.She later left my house that day but was chased back by her father.Till today,she has been a very submissive wife.And that my cousin brother is even helping us today and the guy loves me so much because of the way I pampered him when he was staying with me.Most times,our men are the caused of the problem in their homes.How can you marry a woman you can't control?

Excellent of you to take charge of the home as the Head.
Some women are the cause of quarrels and enemity between brothers, and it happens when the man marrying such a woman is weak and pliable.

I had a similar experience, I started serving my boss on January 2016. I served from Jan 2016 to October 2023 that is 7yrs 10monthes. Just two months to my settlement my boss started complaining that his shop was going down, I should provide the money he has been using to run his stores which I hid according to him.
I initially dismissed it as a joke because the man in question is my brother in law and has never caught me stealing or even had any reason to complain about misuse of money in the past. The issue escalated when he told my sister about it and she supported me saying that's exactly what he did to the boy before me but then she newly got married to him and didn't want to be directly involved since they are related. That's how I watched the once peaceful home turn to a warzone all because of my settlement.
To cut the story short I left Niger state with nothing. My sister insisted I go so that he won't try to get evidence to back his claim or stain my reputation since he had nothing on me.
After I left my sis sold a store she bought long ago to start up her business and sent me the money. Well as for my boss, when he saw everyone was against him including friends and costumers and his home was at the verge of breaking up, promised to settle me. It's been six months now yet no message from him.