Oluwatosin Ajibade, the Nigerian singer better known as Mr Eazi, once recalled a major financial setback that shaped his early years before fame.
In December 2023, the singer recounted how he lost ₦19 million after a business venture went sour while he was just 19.
Speaking in an interview on the 90s Baby Show, Mr Eazi said his uncle entrusted him with the funds to execute a diesel supply deal.
He said he had secured an agreement to supply fuel to telecommunications giant MTN and was confident in his ability to deliver.
The 34-year-old singer said he went to Apapa port to purchase diesel. His hopes, however, crumbled after the government removed fuel subsidy, which caused a sudden crash in prices.
“I started this business and I took money from my uncle. He was a doctor. I took money from him and his wife in Nigeria,” he said.
“The business failed. I was probably 19 or 20 years old. I took the money to go buy diesel so that I can supply to MTN.
“I told them MTN is going to pay us. I’m a salesman and I can sell anything. So everything was legit. A lot of people invested money. My boy OC and his dad.
“This guy gave a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old N19 million. Right now N19 million is like 19,000 pounds but then it was more and probably worth 40,000 pounds. This guy gave us money he has saved his entire career.
“MTN saif if you supply, we will pay you. We go to the port in Apapa. At the port, you see all the agents, so you can’t go directly to buy from the tank farm because you’re not buying volume.
“So you need to be buying like 10 or 20. But there were guys who had their location to buy bulk. You’ll pay them and they’ll add N1 or 50 kobo per litre. It was 33,000 litres for truck, they’ll add their cut and get it for you.
“We gave this guy the money but then they had done deregulation of fuel so they had removed subsidy so the prices crashed. So our money was stuck for probably 3 months.
“We couldn’t supply MTN again. By the time they gave us diesel we didn’t have the MTN deal. So now we had to sell that diesel for less the price. We lost the money.”
Mr Eazi, who rose to fame with his 2015 single ‘Holl Up,’ is credited as the pioneer of Banku Music.
He has since expanded his ventures, including founding the pan-African music collective Choplife Soundsystem.
His recent multimillion-dollar wedding to Temi Otedola, daughter of billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, across three countries, further cemented his status as a leading figure in both the music and business worlds