Nigerian music star and entrepreneur, Oluwatosin Ajibade, popularly often called Mr Eazi, has revealed how a enterprise misstep in his teenage years value him thousands and thousands of naira and virtually crushed his entrepreneurial drive.
Talking in a latest podcast interview shared on X, the ‘Legalize’ crooner recalled shedding about N19 million in a collapsed diesel provide deal when he was 19.
He defined that he had borrowed cash from his uncle, a medical physician, and his spouse in Nigeria to finance the enterprise, which on the time appeared like a safe funding.
Based on him, the plan was to buy diesel and provide it to purchasers, together with telecom big MTN.
Mr Eazi said that like many younger entrepreneurs then, he relied on brokers at Lagos’ Apapa port to supply the product, since direct entry to tank farms required bulk allocations.
Nonetheless, he recounted that bother started when the federal government unexpectedly deregulated gasoline costs, a transfer that prompted diesel costs to crash, leaving him and his companions with inventory that rapidly misplaced worth.
The funds remained caught for months, and the anticipated MTN deal ultimately fell by.
“After I was about 19 or 20, I borrowed cash from my uncle and his spouse. The concept was to purchase diesel and provide it. I used to be too assured, I instructed them MTN goes to pay us, bro, I’m a salesman I can promote something.
“Every little thing seemed legit backed by a longtime firm, I used to be satisfied I may promote it. However after deregulation, we needed to promote the diesel at a loss. Explaining to my uncle that his life financial savings had been gone was one of many hardest moments,and he was devastated,” he stated.
Whereas the loss was devastating, Mr Eazi stated the setback turned out to be a defining lesson, describing it because the expertise that formed his resilience and sharpened his mindset for future ventures.
“It was a painful failure, nevertheless it toughened me up for the journey forward,” he added.
The singer, who has since constructed a profession as each a world Afrobeats sensation and a profitable investor, stated the episode stays a reminder of how failure can develop into the muse for lasting success.
