A Nigerian woman has averred that tribalism is personal following her experience with her landlord, who is not from her tribe.
The woman identified as Eby Amanda Pius-Urum on Facebook in a lengthy post on the platform said her landlord didn’t care about tribe or marital status when she wanted to rent a house.
According to her, all the landlord asked was if she could renew her rent.
She revealed that a year after her rent expired, she had challenges that made her unable to pay her rent, and rather than sending her packing, the landlord allowed her to pay in instalments and encouraged her with soothing words through the challenge.
Meanwhile, she had begged the landlord for one more month to enable her to pack her loads and go back to her home state, Ebonyi, months after her rent expired.
Surprisingly, upon replying to the message, the landlord advised her against going back to the village and suggested that she pay in instalments.
“What will you go home and do? How are you going to carry your load? You have to understand that it is not the end. I have been in same shoes. It is good to mourn but you should not give up on yourself while doing that. Pay installmentally. Everything will be fine. Pele!” He told her.
Read her full post below,
“I have lived at my current apartment since 2017. When my agent met my landlord that a young lady want to take the apartment. The only question he asked was Hope you can renew your next rent?”
“No singleness and Igbo wahala. I replied YES. Lmao… I didn’t know life was about playing Russian roulette with me. December same year, life hit me. I spent December 2017 to June 2018 shuttling between Lagos and Ebonyi.
“When everything crumbled in June 2018. I stayed almost 2 months in Ebonyi, got back to Lagos after and met mind blowing cobwebs. My rent had expired in April. See me getting back to Lagos in August. I’d lock myself inside my apartment and cry myself to sleep. Wake up, shower and start crying from where I stopped.
“For close to a month. We were entering September and I haven’t paid my rent. The zeal to work was zero. Because, since I became an adult, if I don’t work I won’t eat. There was no hope of getting my rent except I get on my machine. I wrote my landlord. I asked that he should spare me a month more to pack my stuff back home. It was the only option.
“I was tired at that point. No motivational speech dey move me. I waited for over 24hrs for my landlord to reply my message. My rent is due since 5 months plus. So I anticipated a NO. Finally his message came.
“What will you go home and do? How are you going to carry your load? You have to understand that it is not the end. I have been in same shoes. It is good to mourn but you should not give up on yourself while doing that. Pay installmentally. Everything will be fine. Pele!”
“LMAO! I was like “What manner of landlord is this?” His wife came the following week to check up on me. We talked and she hugged me and left. Still wondering why she was surprised I gave her wrapper in December. I have been blessed in this life but my landlord is one of my major blessings.
“My landlord is one of the most understanding and considerate Yoruba man I have ever seen. I pray God blesses me so that I can bless him like I want. It’s 2022 and I have grown past my current apartment. I have been house hunting since last year and all I can say is Tribalism is very personal”.
