Losing a job in Nigeria does not announce itself. One Friday there is an email, a meeting, a "we have to let you go," and suddenly the salary you built your whole life around is gone — but the rent, the school fees, the data bill, and the relatives are all still very much around. If that is where you are right now, first thing: this is survivable, and panic is the most expensive emotion in the room. Let me give you a calm, practical plan to steady yourself and rebuild.
First, breathe — then count
Before you do anything, find out exactly how much money you actually have. Not roughly. Exactly. Add up every kobo you can reach: current accounts, savings, that PiggyVest stash, money people owe you that you can realistically collect, anything you can sell quickly. This single number is your runway — how many weeks or months you can survive at your current burn rate. You cannot make good decisions in the dark, and the fear feels smaller once it has a number attached to it. Write it down today.
Know exactly what you are owed
Do not walk away from money your employer legally owes you. In the rush and the emotion, many Nigerians leave entitlements on the table. Under the Labour Act, an employer generally cannot just terminate without proper notice — and the required notice depends on how long you served: one day if you were there three months or less, one week for three months up to two years, two weeks for two to five years, and one month if you served five years or more. Crucially, the law also lets an employer pay your salary in lieu of that notice — so if they let you go immediately, payment in place of notice is typically due.
A few more things to chase down:
Redundancy. If you were let go because the role was abolished or the workforce cut (not because of your performance), that is redundancy. The Labour Act does not fix an exact figure, but it expects employers to negotiate redundancy payments and to apply "last in, first out." If a redundancy package is on the table, it is negotiable — do not assume the first offer is final.
Terminal benefits and accrued leave. Unpaid salary, untaken leave, and any benefits in your contract are yours. Read your employment letter and any staff handbook.
Your pension. Your Retirement Savings Account does not vanish when you lose your job. Under the Pension Reform Act 2014, if you are disengaged and cannot find new work after four months, you may access up to 25% of your RSA balance. Treat it as a serious last resort — more on that below — but know the option exists.
A quick, polite, written request for a clear breakdown of your final entitlements is reasonable and expected. Ask for it.
Stop the bleeding
Cut your spending to survival mode the same week — not next month. Every week you keep spending like an employed person, you burn runway you may desperately need. Strip your budget down to true essentials: food, rent or accommodation, transport for job-hunting, basic data and airtime, and any non-negotiable medical needs. Everything else pauses — subscriptions, eating out, the gym, "treats," the gen running all day. This is temporary. You are not living like this forever; you are buying yourself time and options. A leaner few months now is far better than a forced fire-sale of your assets later.
Your runway is not how much you have. It is how long it lasts — and you control the second number more than the first.
Stretch your runway into three buckets
Split whatever you have into Now, Soon, and Emergency. A simple structure keeps you from spending everything in the first scary month:
Now (1 month): Cash you keep accessible for this month's essentials.
Soon (2–3 months): Money parked somewhere that earns a little but stays reachable — a money market fund or flexible savings has been yielding meaningfully in 2026's high-rate environment, so your buffer at least fights inflation while you wait.
Emergency (do-not-touch): Your last line. This is what keeps you off the predatory loan apps with their brutal interest and shame tactics. Whatever you do, do not borrow from quick-loan apps to fund daily survival — that is how a hard season turns into a debt trap that outlasts the job loss by years.
Protect your pension — don't cash everything in panic
The 25% pension withdrawal is a tool, not a reflex. Yes, it is allowed after four months of unemployment, and in tough times many Nigerians use it — PenCom data shows thousands drawing on their RSAs each quarter. But understand the trade: once you take that 25% for job loss, you typically cannot touch the rest until actual retirement. You would be borrowing from your 60-year-old self to fund your 30-year-old emergency. Sometimes that is genuinely the right call. But exhaust the gentler options first — entitlements, lean budgeting, fast income — before you touch money meant for a future that will also arrive.
