“A Week in the Life” is a weekly 91大神 series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.听
Today, a woman who sells loans to Nigerian police officers walks us through the chaos of dealing with aggressive officers, why she dislikes the job and her plans for the future.听
I have to be at work by 8 a.m., so I wake up at six. My my mum is already preparing breakfast, so I sweep the house, take my bath, eat breakfast and prepare for work. By 7:30 a.m., I leave the house.听
I work as a loan advisory officer at a company that offers loans to police officers, and my work involves convincing the officers to take the loans. It鈥檚 a weird job. Instead of outright pushing a product like the average salesperson, my work is more advisory. I show them why they need the loan and guide them through the process.
When I get to the office, it鈥檚 meetings, meetings and meetings. And then, I hit the road looking for policemen who need money.
The loan company works with the (IPPIS) to offer the loans. I joined the company as a customer service agent when I wanted to move up the career ladder from being a pre-school teacher. Then the company restructured and moved me to sales. I hate anything to do with sales targets because it comes with competition.
For instance, a police officer who鈥檇 taken his first loan through me relocates to another city. When they get there, they may want to take another loan. I have to be very careful to prevent my colleagues from reaching them before me because all the company cares about is us bringing in loan requests. If I let a police officer seek loans from another advisory officer, I鈥檝e lost. I have to be very jealous about my customers.
Before, when a police officer tells me they want 鈧100k, for example, I鈥檇 just process their loan request. But, omo, I have targets to meet o. Nowadays, I upsell to them. I鈥檒l ask, 鈥淎re you sure?鈥 and try to convince them to ask for more. I like this part sha, because I鈥檓 improving, and I know it鈥檚 a valuable skill I鈥檒l need when I decide to switch careers.
My life is also full of fear. Travelling outside my state so often just to convince police officers to take loans stresses me, especially with the country so insecure. I鈥檝e heard stories of robbers attacking police stations to destabilise them before going into town to rob. My daily fear is, what if I get caught up in a crossfire?
And I鈥檓 a young lady. Have you met Nigerian policemen? Imagine meeting them every single day. The average Nigerian policeman is aggressive so I get threats and visits to the police station often. The most recent instance was after one of them applied for a loan term of six months, and for some reason, IPPIS continued deducting from his account until the eighth month. He was refunded eventually, but he refused to let it go. He鈥檇 also asked me out earlier, and I鈥檇 refused, so maybe that鈥檚 what was paining him. He came to the office, rough-handled the customer service lady and carried us to the police station where he lied that I鈥檇 disrespected him and taken his money.听
After everything was resolved, I came to work the next day and nobody even looked at me. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 cut out for this kind of life, but I have to eat.
By 3 p.m., I鈥檝e visited five police stations and scored seven leads. The economy is hard and people need more money, but I don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 a good thing. I鈥檓 really tired when I get back to the office. Little do I know I鈥檓 coming back to wahala. There鈥檚 this drunkard policeman who comes to disturb me every other month. Even though I鈥檝e explained how loans work to him, he still comes to complain when money is deducted from his salary. Why are police officers so dramatic?
The only thing that鈥檚 keeping me here is money. I鈥檓 currently still in school and I have to pay for it. ASUU strike is helping me because I don鈥檛 have to combine work and school for now. I can focus on work and learning digital skills. I look forward to a time when I no longer have to do loan officer work for Nigerian policemen every day. I鈥檝e started learning content marketing through online courses. I practise what I learn during the weekend, and I hope to start it as a career soon.
Omo, it鈥檚 been a long day, and I can鈥檛 stress myself thinking too much about these things. I just want to go back home and rest.
Check back for new A Week in the Life stories every first Tuesday of the month at 9 a.m. If you’d like to be featured on the series, or you know anyone interesting who fits the profile, fill out聽.
