Singer and entrepreneur Mr Eazi has opened up about a major financial setback he experienced as a teenager, revealing that he once lost N19 million in a failed diesel business at just 19 years old
According to him, he convinced his uncle, a doctor, and his wife in Nigeria to invest in the venture, which was aimed at supplying diesel to telecommunications giant MTN.
“I started this business and I took money from my uncle. I took money from him and his wife in Nigeria. So now the business has failed,” he recalled.
Explaining how it all happened, Mr Eazi said he and his friend OC were entrusted with the huge sum — money OC’s father had saved over his entire career — because the MTN contract appeared to be a guaranteed deal.
“MTN says, if you supply, we’ll pay you. We go to the port in Apapa. But you can’t go directly to buy from the tank farm because you’re not buying volume. You need to be buying like 10, 20 trucks. So you pay these middlemen, they add their cut, and get it for you,” he said.
Unfortunately, shortly after they paid for the diesel, the federal government deregulated fuel and removed subsidy, causing prices to crash. This left their money stuck for about three months.
By the time the diesel was eventually supplied, their MTN deal had fallen through, forcing them to sell at a loss.
“We can’t supply MTN again. By the time they’re giving us the diesel, we don’t have the MTN deal. So now we have to sell that diesel for less the price,” he explained.
Looking back, Mr Eazi said it was a tough lesson in business, one that taught him the risks of investing and dealing with volatile markets at such a young age.
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