I Borrowed 350k from a Friend in 2022 for a Business That Never Existed. He Still Thinks I Will Pay.

This was back in 2022, I was 28 and living in Abeokuta. I had just lost my job at a small printing press and I was desperate. My landlord was knocking every morning, and my younger sister's school fees were overdue. I couldn't breathe.

Then my old secondary school friend, Tayo , we grew up together in the same compound , called me. He had just gotten a new job in Lagos and was feeling generous. He asked how I was doing, and before I could stop myself, I told him I was starting a small poultry business. I described the coop, the chicks, the feed supplier. I had never even held a chicken.

He sent me 350,000 naira that same week. Said he believed in me. Omo, I used that money to pay my rent, clear my sister's fees, and survive for about four months. The business never existed. Not one chick.

Every month since then, he calls to ask how the birds are doing. I tell him they are growing well, that I am saving for the next batch. He says he is proud of me. I cannot even look at myself in the mirror when I say those things. I have blocked and unblocked him three times. I still owe him every kobo.

I know I need to tell him the truth. But how do you tell the one person who believed in you that you lied from the start? This debt is not just money , it is the trust I killed. One day I will pay him back. But I don't think I will ever forgive myself.