A day in the life of a cashless Nigerian

You wake up early in the morning on a Monday morning. You leave for work and it is only when you reach the junction and are about to hail a keke that you remember that you have zero cash on you to pay for transport. That means you will leg it.

After work, you are lucky that your colleague who has a car decides to give you a lift. He packs you and 5 other colleagues in his Ford focus. The hunger in your stomach would have remained calm but now the heat mixed with the stench of body odour is threatening to bring up your breakfast of black tea and bread. 

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You haven’t had milk since the day you went to the bank to withdraw your hard earned money and they refused. Now Mama Boy is charging 2k for 5k. Even at that, you would have to go there early to join the line.

Today, you do not have the 2k to give to her. On the list of things you do not have is also food. You have just one pack of spaghetti left which you will eat with palm oil for dinner.

You call in sick at work to go to the bank. Your first lie to your boss. The security guard says there will be cash at 5pm. You wait all day and just a little past 5pm they tell you and all the others go home. 

Just as you’re about to leave, frustrated, the big woman behind you bumps your behind and you reach the ground. She apologises but your bathroom slippers have already absorbed the shock. Your left leg has cut.

Now, you have to go back home; cashless, barefoot and with an empty stomach.

Your only consolation is that it could have been worse. You could have had a wife and kid(s). 

Tomorrow, you try again.