Singer and entrepreneur Mr Eazi has shared how he suffered a major financial loss as a teenager, revealing that he lost ₦19 million in a failed diesel supply business at just 19 years old.
He said he convinced his uncle, a doctor, and his wife in Nigeria to invest in the venture, which was meant to supply 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 said.
According to him, he and his friend OC were entrusted with the money — savings that OC’s father had accumulated over his career — because the MTN contract appeared to be a sure 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 explained.
However, shortly after they paid for the diesel, the federal government deregulated fuel and removed subsidy, which caused prices to crash and left their money tied up for about three months.
By the time the diesel was delivered, the MTN contract had been canceled, 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 said.
Reflecting on the experience, Mr Eazi described it as a painful but valuable business lesson that taught him about risk and market volatility at a very young age.
