The day my cousin sold our family land and said 'it's just business'

Three years ago, I pooled my savings with two cousins to buy a plot of land in Akure. We trusted family over paperwork. Big mistake.

The land was cheap then, and we agreed to hold it together, build later, maybe sell when the price was right. My cousin Tunde was the one who found it, so we let him handle the documents. We didn't even bother to check the title properly. Naive, I know.

Fast forward two years, the area started developing. A new road was coming, and the price tripled. We were all excited, talking about what we'd build. Then one day, Tunde calls me, sounding nervous. He said he sold the land. Just like that. To some developer from Ibadan.

I couldn't speak. My other cousin, Femi, was furious. We confronted Tunde, and he just said, "It's just business. I needed the money for my own project." Just business. The same family that ate from the same pot, now calling our inheritance business.

We fought for months. The family split. Our mothers stopped talking. At one point, I almost went to a lawyer, but I couldn't do that to my aunt. In the end, we got nothing. Tunde moved to Abuja with the money, and we haven't spoken since.

I learned a hard lesson that year: never mix money with family without a written agreement. Even the people who carried you as a baby can change when money enters the picture. Now, I sign everything. And I trust no one, not fully.