There is something strange about watching someone else’s dream become a very public reality.
For the past few days, everyone seems to be talking about Dangote. The Dangote Refinery has opened its initial public offering, with 4.1 billion shares being offered at ₦525 each. The offer is expected to raise about ₦2.15 trillion, with Nigerians able to participate with as little as ₦5,250.
And now, people are buying.
You see your friends posting about the shares they bought. Someone is calculating how much their investment could become. Another person is encouraging everyone to “secure their future.” Your WhatsApp group is talking about it. Twitter is talking about it.
And you’re just there thinking, “With which money?”
Because sometimes, the difficult part isn’t that you don’t understand the opportunity. You do. You know ₦5,250 may not sound like much to some people, but when you’re already trying to stretch the money you have across food, transport, bills, family responsibilities, debt, data, and everything else life keeps demanding from you, even ₦5,250 can feel like a lot.
So while your friends are buying shares, you might be looking at your account balance, wondering how you are going to get through the week. And that feeling can hurt in a way you don’t always talk about.
You are happy for your friends. Truly. But somewhere inside, there can also be a little sadness. You wish you could participate too. You wish you had money sitting somewhere that you could comfortably invest. You wish you weren’t always calculating what you can afford.
Sometimes, someone else’s financial progress makes you painfully aware of your own situation.
You start wondering, “Am I falling behind?”
You look at your friends buying shares, building businesses, travelling, changing jobs and making investments, and suddenly your own life feels smaller. You begin thinking about all the things you haven’t been able to do yet.
Maybe you have a business idea you’ve been unable to fund. Maybe you’ve been trying to save, but emergencies keep eating into your savings. Maybe you are working hard and still somehow feel broke. And when you’re already tired, watching other people move financially can make you question yourself.
But please remember this: not being able to buy the shares today does not mean you have failed at life.
Your financial situation is a circumstance. It is not your identity.
There will be seasons when you have enough money to invest, and there may be seasons when your biggest financial achievement is simply making sure you have enough to survive. Both seasons are part of life.
We often forget that everyone is working with different circumstances. Someone may have money they can comfortably invest because their rent is already paid, their salary has come in, or they simply have fewer financial responsibilities. You might not have that luxury right now.
That doesn’t make you less ambitious. And it certainly doesn’t mean you won’t have opportunities of your own.
Your life is a story too, even if your biggest moments haven’t happened yet.
Maybe right now, you’re not buying shares. Maybe you’re trying to get your finances under control, paying off a debt, looking for a better job, or saving your first ₦50,000.
Maybe you’re building a small business with whatever you can afford. Maybe you’re learning a skill that you hope will change your income in the future. These things may not look impressive on social media, but they matter.
Your friends buying shares does not mean you have to feel ashamed that you can’t. You can be happy for them and still wish you were in a position to participate. Both feelings can exist at the same time.
And if you genuinely cannot afford to invest right now, please don’t put yourself in a difficult financial position simply because everyone around you is doing it.
There will be another opportunity. There will be another investment. There will be another business idea. There will be another door.
Your job is not to participate in every opportunity you see. Sometimes, your job is to get yourself into a better position so that when the next opportunity comes, you are ready for it.
So don’t let someone else’s financial milestone become evidence against yourself.
You are not behind simply because your friend bought shares and you couldn’t. You are not a failure because your savings aren’t where you want them to be. You are not wasting your life because you are still figuring things out.
Keep building. Keep learning. Keep saving when you can. Keep looking for ways to increase your income.
And when you have a little more room to breathe, start investing in your future in whatever way makes sense for you.
Maybe one day, you’ll be the friend someone else is watching and thinking, “I wish I could do that too.”
And when that day comes, remember how this season felt. Remember that there was a time when you watched other people buy shares while you were simply trying to make ends meet.
Remember that you once wondered if your own financial breakthrough would ever come. And remember that you kept going.
Your story is still being written.
You may not be where you want to be yet. But yet is a powerful word. It means the story isn’t finished.
It gets better, right?
Wishing you well.
