The Stories We Don't Often Tell (Part 1)

On May 3, 2019, I got a credit alert of N7,040,000 (Seven Million, Forty Thousand Naira) in my corporate account. It was sent by a corporate client, one of the Discos in Nigeria which we had done some small projects for.?

For the avoidance of doubt, we were not expecting any payment from the client. We had ended our project with them in December 2018 and the entire project sum was not even up to 5% of the aforementioned sum.?

To put things in perspective, it was our first major client and our focus at the time was to build a portfolio, so the money they were going to pay us was inconsequential, as long as it covered the basic cost of production. They delayed with their payments and we were disappointed a number of times, but it was important to conclude the project on a good note.?

So, imagine receiving a payment of over N7m some 5 months after the project (and relationship) had ended. When I saw the alert at first, I laughed. Really hard. Like, "devil, not today".?

I won't even lie, I was broke. I had been out of paid employment for about 8 months, trying to build a company. During that time, we had our second baby, paid rent and took care of other financial needs in a Buhari economy.?

Around the same time, I was pursuing some pathways to migrate, and proof of funds was the holy grail of immigration, no matter what pathway I wanted to explore. I had even paid for WES and initiated my transcript request. Getting an ITA was going to be a huge achievement for 2019; or at least, so I thought.?

And there I was. Over N7m sitting in my account. I didn't do any Yahoo to get the money. I did not even do a Buhari or an APC on the client. He just sent the money into my account. Unprovoked. And we were about to enter the #NextLevel of Bubu and his locust years.?

As soon as I confirmed where the money came from, I did something an average Nigerian would have considered stupid at the time. Don't worry, I know because I have lived in Nigeria for more than three decades.?

Even some colleagues and acquaintances (oh, I didn't mention I took up a role to manage corporate communications for a Fintech firm around that period too, while trying to build my company, yeah?) told me I should be smart and not send the money back, since I did not force them to transfer the money in the first place.?

Anyway, as soon as the alert came and I confirmed the source, I reached out to my contact in the organisation who was an ex-colleague (egbon has since moved on to start doing big things in a multinational firm).?

His reaction was to laugh because it didn't make sense to him. Like, "we ended our project with you guys last year. How can we still be paying you?" He didn't particularly say those, but that was what the laughter meant. I didn't say too much. I just asked him to check and get back to me.?

And check he did. Shortly after, he called me back. I could feel the anxiety in his voice. He was not the one at fault; even had no business with that transaction. Someone in their Finance Department wanted to credit another company that has a first name as ours (Smartedge), but that was all the similarity we had. Our business objectives are as the distance between the east and the west.?

But yeah, the Finance guy needed to make a payment of an amount up to that sum and didn't check well to confirm it was the beneficiary. Even the authoriser also approved without crosschecking. Because of my experience in banking operations, the beneficiary details were always very important, as one digit or difference in name could put you in trouble.?

So, that was how the money landed in my account. One Finance guy that could have paid a bit more attention.?

And the implications were intense. Lol

Well, for one, it was a needless temptation, but not one that I could not easily surmount. Blame it on my upbringing. I had been taught from childhood not to envy or desire what is not mine. No matter how huge the amount is, if it is not mine, it is not mine.

If money mistakenly enters into my account and I am not expecting it, I won't touch a kobo of that money until I confirm who it came from and what the purpose is. (I am laughing now because I sent some little money to a friend some days back and the person rushed to transfer it to another account without confirming who it came from. The narration was not clear and there was no trace it was from me, no thanks to the bank's faulty technology system.)

After my contact confirmed what the money was meant for and who the intended beneficiary was, I asked for the account details, took my letterhead and drafted a transfer instruction, called my bank and instructed them to ensure the money got to the beneficiary that same day.?

Now, I could have just allowed the money chill in my account for a few days, after all, it was going to be an inconvenience getting to the bank to sort out an issue I did not create in the first place. But then, I was more concerned about the consequences for the Finance guy if the money did not get to the beneficiary that same day.?

I pressed all buttons and did everything to ensure the transfer was done that same day, promising my bank to regularise the instruction the following day.?

Now, why am I telling this story? My company is now at that point where such project sums are not strange to us. Up to this point, I can confidently say that God has helped us. And we actually climbed the stairs. We did not blow overnight.?

With every sense of modesty, I can say we paid our dues. No cutting corners and no burning of bridges. The things we are doing today are because of referrals from very dear friends who have come to trust us to deliver results.?

And this is how it works: when we get a referral, the new client will most likely want to refer us to another client. I am big on relationships and I sacrifice instant financial gains just to build and maintain relationships. It's safe to say that was how we got here and it is going to be one of our best kept secrets (is it still a secret if I am talking about it?), going into the future.?

Why am I telling this story? I don't even know. If you read up to this point and you haven't been able to pick any lesson, I no fit help you.?

And no, we no dey motivate person today. If you are looking for motivation, go and look for aspire to backfire to Maguire.?

Love, light and peace.?

(c) Onyeka Dike