She Took Over Her Best Friend’s Business and Made It Her Own: Did She Do Wrong?

Sometimes life places people in messy situations where the right choice is far from clear. That is the premise behind Na Me F— Up?, a series in which real Nigerians share the decisions they have made and leave it to readers to judge whether they messed up. This is Bola’s story, as told to Azara.

Bola, 26, never set out to run a business. But when her friend Ezinne, also 26, asked her to take over a small jewellery venture, Bola agreed — and turned it into something far bigger than either of them had imagined. Over time, resentment about money grew, and Bola made a decision that would ultimately damage their friendship. At the end, readers are left with one question: did she do wrong or not?

How the friendship began

Bola and Ezinne met in 2020 during their final year at university. Bola had helped Ezinne with an assignment, and from there they became close. Bola describes herself as the serious one — the student who attended every class and graduated with a second-class upper degree. Ezinne was the party girl, going out whenever she could and relying on Bola to handle much of her work. At the time, Bola did not mind. That, she says, is what friends do.

After graduating in 2021, both discovered that the job market was not kind to fresh graduates. They applied widely and heard nothing back. Bola was not especially troubled at first, but by the time she finished NYSC in 2023, she was still jobless and fully dependent on her parents.

Ezinne starts a jewellery business

Ezinne grew tired of waiting for a job and started a small jewellery business, selling necklaces, earrings and bracelets on Instagram. Bola was happy for her but braced herself for the day Ezinne would ask her to take over, as she often did when she lost interest in something.

A month later, Ezinne landed a job as a media specialist earning ₦120,000 a month. Her jewellery business had not amounted to much — only about two or three sales — so she dropped it to focus on her new career. Bola admits she was jealous. She saw herself as the more focused and hardworking one, yet Ezinne was the one with a job. She felt cheated but knew there was nothing she could do.

As expected, Ezinne soon asked Bola to help run the business. Bola might have said no if she had a job, but she was desperate, so she agreed without hesitation. She took over at the end of 2023, when the Instagram page had just 53 followers and had barely made any sales.

Bola builds the business

Bola treated the business like a job. She learned to take better photos, found cheaper sources for stock, wrote catchy captions and replied to every direct message within seconds. For the first few months, she barely made any money, but she kept going.

Then things began to work. By 2024, about six months after she took over, she was making a steady ₦300,000 in profit each month, and the page had grown to 2,600 followers. Her highest profit came in March, at ₦610,000. Her life changed. She started saving for the first time, restocked her wardrobe and began taking online business courses to manage the business better. She was proud of what she had built on her own.

Ezinne, however, did not see it that way. In the six months since Bola took over, Ezinne had not contributed in any way — she had not even asked how things were going. But once Bola started upgrading her lifestyle, Ezinne realised the business was working. One day she called and asked the question Bola had feared: “Where’s my half of the profit?”

The profit-sharing arrangement

Bola did not want to give Ezinne half. She was doing all the work. But she felt she had no choice. She had been running the business with Ezinne’s blessing, and Ezinne could have taken it back at any time. Bola also did not want to fight her best friend, so she agreed.

From then on, Ezinne received half of the profit every month while Bola continued to do everything: sourcing jewellery, going to the market in the blistering sun, taking photos, packaging orders, handling customer complaints and posting daily. Ezinne never helped with any of it. She would simply text for her half at the end of each month. She never said thank you or acknowledged how hard Bola was working. She even once joked that Bola was her salesgirl.

The friendship began to change. Bola was used to doing things for Ezinne, but those things had never involved her money. She grew tired and resentful. Every time she sent Ezinne her share, she would remember all the other things she had done for her friend without proper appreciation. It did not help that Ezinne still had her corporate job, so taking half of Bola’s money was not even necessary. Bola came to see Ezinne as someone who had been leeching off her since they met, and she could no longer handle it.

Bola decides to take ownership

At the beginning of 2025, on New Year’s Day, Bola decided she no longer wanted to share the business. She wanted it to be hers, but she could not simply tell Ezinne because she knew Ezinne would not agree. She also did not want to complicate things before she could take ownership. And that is what she intended to do: legally take ownership.

The business had never been registered, and no agreement between them said they were partners. The little stock Ezinne had started with had been sold off long ago, and everything the business now had, Bola had paid for with money it made while she was running it. With all this in mind, Bola asked herself, “Why not register my business under a different name?” And that is exactly what she did. She picked a name that was not taken, uploaded her ID, paid the registration fee from her own savings and waited. Nothing about it was illegal, she says, because it had nothing to do with Ezinne anymore.

By April 2025, Bola was certified. That same week, she changed the Instagram password. Then she told Ezinne everything. Ezinne screamed that Bola was a thief and had been stealing from her all along. She added that Bola would not be living the life she has if not for her. Bola retaliated, saying what she felt: that Ezinne had not done anything for the business in almost two years. Ezinne said she would sue, but Bola explained there was nothing to sue over. If Ezinne wanted the Instagram page — the only thing she had made — she could have it. Bola knew she could build a new one. Ezinne cursed her in every language she knew and then blocked her.

The fallout and the apology

Bola says she would like to say she felt free, but truthfully it was difficult. She knew she was risking her friendship with what she did, yet part of her hoped Ezinne would be understanding. To make matters worse, a month later Ezinne went online and started talking about the business. She posted on her Instagram story, falsely claiming that Bola was a scammer and a thief and that people should be careful. Bola was terrified. The business was her only source of income, and a claim like that could ruin everything.

So even though Bola did not think she had done anything wrong, she called Ezinne and apologised. She said she was sorry for the way she had handled things and hoped Ezinne could forgive her. To her surprise, Ezinne broke down in tears and apologised as well. She said she was sorry for never contributing to the business and for taking so much of Bola’s money. She told Bola she knew Bola deserved the business but was jealous that she had not been able to scale it as much as Bola had. Within the hour, they were friends again, and Ezinne took the posts down.

Once the posts were down, the business matter was resolved. The two are cordial now. They sometimes text and like each other’s posts, but they no longer laugh together like they used to. Bola misses what their relationship used to be, but she did what she had to do. To this day, she does not actually feel sorry. She apologised because she had to, not because she believed she was wrong. She was the one who worked hard, she says, and she only did what she did to protect herself.

Where things stand now

Today, Bola’s business is a little rocky. Sales have dropped, but she knows things will pick up, especially with Christmas around the corner. Business income fluctuates, so she is not afraid. The only interesting development with Ezinne recently was a text a few days ago: Ezinne said she wants to buy Bola’s jewellery.

Now it is up to readers to decide: did Bola do wrong, or did she do what was necessary?