It’s quite easy to be broke in Nigeria and still remain very relevant in society. I’ve seen it happen a lot times to wonder if being broke really is “in” as they say. A typical broke guy wears the latest fashion, has thousands of twitter followers and shows up in all major events (without paying off course). He or she can even be seen driving the latest cars and living in expensive neighborhoods like Lekki. They even have groupies who follow them to everywhere they go hoping one day to look back and say “started from the bottom now we up”.
You must be wondering, if celebs have all the attributes I mentioned above, how then can they be said to be broke? Unfortunately being broke has nothing to do with having thousands of twitter followers or driving the finest cars. Being broke is not having enough liquid assets to match the liabilities that you have. It is a state of not having cash when it matters most.
You want to travel for a tour or vacation and then you ask your travel agent to make the booking only to pay after much hassles. It’s not having enough cash to buy a decent car without having a zero balance in your account. Being broke is waiting for an endorsement from a major brand to be able to afford to pay your rent. Being broke is attending clubs in a large entourage sitting in the VIP section buying dozens of champagne only to sign afterwards and off course abstain from paying your bills. Being broke is living a life that is not yours in your videos and in public appearances.
Being broke is also not having a single kobo in a pension fund or some investment portfolio. Being broke is constantly living from pay cheque to pay cheque, which in this case is one show or even to another, just to make ends meeting. It’s not having a business model that ensures your source living generates a regular income stream that does not rely on rent seeking. Being broke is also having to share a flat, apartment or duplex with a platoon of band members, hype men and groupies.Â
Being broke is looking out for donations from politicians and influential people when you want to get married or bury or loved one. Broke people also rely on donations from friends and family for major funding when in times of dire need. It is basically spending more than you can afford and owing more on every Naira that you own.
Nigeria is not like the US or UK so broke celebs don’t file bankruptcy. They just end up as junkies or swallow the pride and go look for a salaried job. They just disappear from the scene only to reappear when tragedy beckons.
So, if you know a celeb with the above attributes why don’t you ask him or her why he is broke? Ask why aren’t you saving more of what you earn? Why don’t you have a retirement savings and a pension fund? Why buy a N15m car when you don’t even have N1million left in the bank after the purchase. Tell them you’re not mad…you’re only being real.