“In business, the higher you fly without a strong foundation, the harder the crash.”

When we founded First Aid Finance, we were still in our twenties. At that time, Ibrahim Babangida, the military ruler of Nigeria, had deregulated the financial sector.

💡 The minimum capital requirement to start a financial institution was removed, allowing anyone to start a finance company, akin to a mini bank.

In those noticeably young and restless days, we were eager to try out new things. Earlier that year, I had received training from Anton Anderson, which greatly boosted my confidence. I was the Managing Director of the largest finance company in Nigeria under Mr. Musibau Sani. Believing in our potential, we embarked on starting First Aid Finance.

🚀 Early Success

✅ I bounced back from the initial business failure by recognizing early signs, which are outlined in this book.

Our plan was to start the business with partners for investment, but due to changing circumstances, my friend and I ended up starting First Aid Finance by ourselves. Despite being undercapitalized, we made it work.

✨ The first two years were a huge success:

• 🏠 I bought my first house
• 🚗 Acquired five cars within a year
• 💍 Got married and enjoyed other blessings

But beneath the surface, trouble was brewing.

⚠️ The Flawed Model

Typically, finance companies would take deposits at high interest rates and then deposit them with another company offering even higher rates.

🔑 Our company made considerable money by collecting 8% on client deposits and placing them with other finance companies at 12–15%. Each month, I earned 4–5% by simply moving deposits.

👉 But the flaw was fatal: many companies we used were unstable, operating like Ponzi schemes.

💥 The Crash

During my honeymoon 🏖️, my team deposited money into one such company. By the time I tried to withdraw it, it was impossible.

❌ The company collapsed.
❌ We lost all our money.
❌ My once-booming company crumbled overnight.

I went from prosperity to debt in weeks.

• 🚗 Six cars — gone
• 🏠 My house — gone
• 📉 My financial empire — gone

👮 Jungle Justice

In Nigeria back then, debt recovery wasn’t legal—it was survival of the fittest.

• 👮 Creditors could show up at your house with police or soldiers
• 🔒 You’d be arrested and locked up until you “vomited” money
• 💸 Assets were seized, sold, or outright taken

👉 I also went after executives of the companies we had deposited money with. But in the end, I was still the net loser.

Different clients took different assets until everything of value I had was gone.

🔄 From Collapse to a New Path

Less than six months after my daughter was born 👶, my financial world collapsed.

❤️ My wife encouraged me to take a break, and I traveled to the United States. That decision changed everything:

• 🌎 I discovered an immigration opportunity
• 🗽 Secured permanent residency and later citizenship
• 💼 Founded Specialty Personnel in Nebraska—a company that quickly became an instant success (though it later carried its own lessons).

📚 Lessons Learned

The fall of First Aid Finance was brutal, but it taught me lessons that shaped my future.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• 🚫 Unsustainable models always collapse.
• ⚖️ Never delegate blindly—especially with client money.
• 🔄 Resilience is everything. Failure is not final unless you refuse to rise again.