Picture Credit: Secure MLM Software
The Genesis
In the 1983 hit ‘Ilu le’ by the late Dr. Victor Olaiya, we find a lyrical reflection of Nigeria’s economic struggles. The iconic lines: “Ilu le o, ko sowo lode, okunrin n kigbe, obinrin n kígbe, olukaluku lo n kigbe owo”—which means “It’s tough out here, there’s no money; men and women, everyone is crying out”—paint a clear picture of a society where hardship and financial struggles have become a unifying cry. Interestingly, Nigerian artists—past and present—share a common chorus: the economic condition has been in a state of perpetual struggle. Songs like “e no easy” by P-square and “Monsters you made” by Burna Boy are testaments to the continued decline of the economy.
As Nigerians, we’ve grown accustomed to the fact that words can have different meanings depending on who you ask and where you are. But this is not limited to individual perspectives; it also reflects the changing times we live and grow in. Take words like “easy,” “rich,” and “comfortable,” for instance. What did they mean to Nigerians in the ’90s, and what do they mean today? Thankfully, this is the era of delusion—we can escape from this wicked reality of ours and blindly hold on to the outdated meanings of these words. Indeed, Nigeria will teach you life coping mechanisms.
From the ’90s to the current era, artists have sung of the same economic troubles. If consistency were a country, alas! The giant of Africa. This enduring refrain suggests that, despite the relatively better economic state in the ’90s, Nigerians have battled the same demon; they have only found other ways to manage the reality, because the economy itself has not experienced any substantial improvement. With the rising cost of education, dwindling job prospects, and financial burdens, it is no different for the greatest gbagbas—they fight like everyone else.
The average student in Nigeria has at least one of these things: a side business, a remote/hybrid job, or rich parents/relatives. This is a design necessitated by the harsh economic conditions in Nigeria. Nationals already have it hard; there is barely a comfortable person, not even the so-called rich people in the society. “Comfortable” is now more like “earning in dollars,” “multiple streams of income,” and “billion-dollar investment.” The economic realities in Nigeria have evolved a lot of words, including what a “student” means. So, can we really blame students for finding other ways to make money aside from education?
In the words of Damilola, a final year student of UI, the first child from a family of six,
“I do not blame my parents for their inability to provide for me sometimes. I am not their only child and I understand this. I started my jewellery business in 200-level to help myself in school since my siblings are young, they can’t work so, I have to help myself”
Many students, like Damilola, across universities in Nigeria have to find additional means to make money, apart from depending on parents for monthly stipends. Despite this unfavorable situation, we are often told that hard work and determination are the keys to success. But what happens if the pursuit of financial stability leads us down a path of false promises and deceit?
The Neolife Model
For many students, the allure of easy money and flexible online work has led them to a business that promises financial freedom. This business is popularly known as Neo-life; other names include “2 in 1 business opportunity,” Faith Heroic Generation (FHG), amongst many others.
Neo-life is a health and wellness company located in the USA. Initially, it operated mainly as a legitimate business, selling wellness products through its branches in Nigeria and many other countries. However, in Nigeria, the company’s primary focus gradually shifted from selling products to online business opportunities where people are taught digital skills to make money online in order to buy those products.
In Nigeria, Neo-life has allegedly been operating more as a business, where individuals—especially secondary school leavers, university students (mostly in their 100/200 level), and even postgraduate students—are recruited to work under uplines who introduced them to the business.
In an exclusive chat with Jim* Post graduate student of UI, He stated that,
“I was looking for a remote job or how to navigate freelancing platforms to earn. I tried before but it didn’t work. I told my friend about it so he sent me a flier to check. On the flier, there were freelancing skills to learn so, I texted the contact on the flier. I went to their office at Iwo road, I noticed it was a rented apartment converted to classrooms and offices. The place looked really bad, the benches were bad and all. The woman there began to explain how the business works. She said what I saw on the flier was the side of the business and Neolife, which was a wellness company that sold products, was the real business.” The testimony from Jim confirms that Neolife was originally not a freelancing business or online job, but a company that sells wellness products.
He further stated that,
“ She explained what it was to me. She told me of the different stages and ranks in the scheme. For you to move up any rank, you must have consumed or sold a certain unit and have people under you so the number of people under you and your sale will determine how high you’ll go in your ranking. She told me of those that have made it in the business. She told me different stories and I knew I was not going back there, it was just another way to become even broker than I was. Afterwards I met two other people who wanted to introduce me to Neolife under FHG but I declined”
Notably, for those who eventually join, they are taught various soft skills to work on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, and are made to either buy or sell products. The scheme is allegedly toxic, with uplines using aggressive recruitment tactics and subjecting downlines to inhumane conditions.
According to Dara* from OAU,
“I first was introduced to Neo-life in 2018. I was in part two then, and I went to OAU New Market for that training. They asked us to pay about twenty thousand Naira then, which I didn’t have. They didn’t tell us how to get the money, and the way they interacted with us was awful. I didn’t like it. Fast forward to 2019 or 2020, I had another encounter with them again. This time around, it was a fellow Christian brother. My friend, too, a female, was doing it, but I think she stopped. So, there was this break in which I stayed behind. The only thing I liked about Neolife was the money attached, but you have to bring people. I’m not a social person, even though I joke a lot, but this is only with people I’m comfortable with.”
She further stated that she despised the way Neolife members talked down on people. “They also talked down on bikers, shop-owners, and even 9-5ers. I overlooked this because I was after the money.”
Students have allegedly fallen victim to Neolife’s many promises, sacrificing their limited resources and education for the sake of the scheme. The reality is that the promised benefits take serious work and time to materialize, leaving downlines with financial losses and emotional distress. The Neo-life business has deeper consequences that extend beyond the financial losses; its impact on poverty, inequality, and financial instability is alarming.
Ife, a final-year student of UI and a resident of Queen Elizabeth ll Hall told the Law Press of how her roommate, who is into FHG, tried to introduce the business to her.
“She tried to get me into the business, but when she saw that I was not giving in, she stopped. She has lost weight, lost money, and a lot since she started the business. She spends a lot of money going for the training at ojoo although she said she has a sponsor. I remember her falling sick but they told her to come for training regardless. I didn’t allow her to go that day because she was sick. She also told me of how they check their phones to know if they’re in any kind of romantic relationships.”
According to one Zainab, a student of University of Ilorin who took to her Twitter handle to narrate her encounter with Neo-life, she expressed gratitude at having “escaped” from the organization. She also warned people to shun any advances from Neo-life, while tagging people to launch a campaign against them.
The scheme allegedly targets students, who are already struggling financially. By convincing them to invest their limited resources in the business, they go around seeking young people to introduce the business to. Different people on Twitter have expressed their opinions on this scheme.
Forsaken Families, Abandoned Education
A lot of people have allegedly forsaken families and friends for the pursuit of this business. Dara from OAU noted that she could still remember turning her mother down during the break. Her mother had called her to spend time at home, but she said she wanted to hustle. “The hustle,” she remarked regrettably, “did not end well.” She mentioned that the organisation was strict. On one occasion, she arrived late at the centre; a lady, one of her superiors there, requested her phone. She gave her the phone innocently, only to be told that her phone had been seized. The scheme also has a menacing impact on education. Students and secondary school leavers have reported that the business distracts them from their academic pursuits, because the demanding training schedules and pressure to recruit others leave them with little time or energy for their studies. This has allegedly led to a large number of drop-outs—including university students who abandon their education to focus on the Neolife business.
In a conversation with Gbemi, a student of UI, he spoke of how he trekked every day to the training venue because he couldn’t afford the transport fare,
“ I trekked to the venue every day, they’d tell us to sing and clap, then share our story. Truly we got to work on online platforms but the money was not always ours and we had to buy and sell certain units of products. By the time I gained admission to UI, my exit from the organization was imminent. They didn’t want me to leave as they threatened me on various occasions, having done a job, withdrawn the money and changed my passwords and keys. Fortunately for me, I was able to escape and today I make money for myself without any affiliation with Neolife. However, I know some of my friends that didn’t further their education because of Neolife”
X Stories
Twitter users have, on various occasions, spoken about how it has become really difficult to advise or warn people against the business.
However, some people claim that the business is a legitimate one, a place where people truly make money, devoid of aggressive recruitment tactics and slaving away to sell products. This is based on a tweet in the picture below
Samson* stated in his testimony that FHG truly teaches people soft skills. According to him,
“ This is my third year in FHG and the journey has not been bad, I have had my lows and also highs but it hasn’t been so bad. I’m thankful I joined then, if I had not joined, I’d probably still be begging my parents for allowance every other month”
Dami, an engineering student of UI who is also into FHG noted that,
“FHG is a great opportunity, especially if you’re someone who can balance academics with making money. It’s not bad at all as long as you manage your time well and prioritize your studies while growing your business. Patience is also key because success doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistency, you can achieve your goals. Think of it as investing in your future while still learning. There’s no fixed timeline for making money. You can start earning as early as your second week if you’re putting in the effort,energy and you do what it takes to make the money. Once you’re allowed to, it’s important to start building your own team by bringing people into the business. This not only grows your potential but also shows a strong sense of commitment to the work”
Similarly, Mercy, a student of University of Benin was interviewed. When asked how the business has been for her so far, financially and psychologically, she noted that,
“I don’t see any way it affects us psychologically. We were taught skills on how to make money after that, we make use of the skills to make money ourselves”
Although Mercy expressed hesitation to the questions asked after, she assured that,
“There is no manipulation or restrictions and It’s your wish to join. But when you’re a newbie in the business, you’ll be told all the laid down rules. And if you’re not okay with it, you leave” The Law Press inquired further on what these rules were but she chose not to take them stating that such a question was “intrusive”.
A Detailed perspective from a Neolife Distributor
A much more comprehensive explanation was given by Faith, a recent graduate of Adeyemi University of Education in Ondo City. Faith is a Neolife distributor who funds his business with the money he makes from web designing. He stated that,
“There are a lot of negative stories about our business because it truly has a lot of red flags. This is because you’re taught skills to make money, so you can purchase products to either use for yourself or resell. However, there is an amount you’re paid for every product you buy, it is not exactly a referral scheme but, if you introduce a person to the business and such person brings another person, your pay increases. A lot of people sell those products in the sun for hours, some people even begin to look tattered, just to sell the products they have got to make a profit while some use these products for themselves. Likewise, some are overpaid while some are underpaid. It’s like buying products worth 100,000 and earning ten million from it because you have people under you while some people are buying products worth 100,000 and collecting 4k because they’re still at the very beginning of the business. The summary of the business is that, climbing up is very hard, it is more or less like slaving but once you’re up there, that’s it and you have to build your network with at least 16 people while at it. The people under you have to buy these products whether or not they’re buoyant enough to buy them and this is where the problem comes from. To actually do Neolife, you must not be poor and this is why you’re taught skills to make money and when you don’t make as much as you’re expected to or you don’t make at all, you’d still have to buy. Although some people are not serious, it is their fault to an extent. Your future in Neolife is determined by your network. I can’t really tell people that I do Neolife because of how arduous and toxic it can sometimes be, and I might leave later on but, currently, I make money from it very well and can not leave it yet” Faith claimed to have made his first one million from Neolife. According to him, his success is rooted in his focus which he maintained from the very beginning.
Way to go
Based on the testimony of witnesses, this business has a mix of negative and positive impact on students. However, the positive impact cannot be overlooked; but the predatory activities that attend it should not persist. Making money, especially for students, should not be toxic; there is no justification whatsoever for a toxic work environment. The role of the government in improving a good work experience cannot be overstated. If there are different job opportunities for students to explore, there will be a relatively equal distribution of all job types. It is good to understand that the promise of easy wealth and financial freedom is a tempting one, especially for students struggling to make ends meet. But, as this business has shown, it may not always be the best option for students.
Names asterisked have been changed to protect the identities of the persons.
This article was first published by the Law press organisation
