I Was Days Away From Homelessness. Then a Food Delivery Platform Gifted Me ₦1 Million

After financial struggles forced him to drop out of the university in his final year, Idris Akewusola started working as a delivery rider to make ends meet. But when a sudden quit notice left him staring down homelessness in Lagos, an unexpected ₦1 million reward from the food delivery platform he worked for changed everything overnight.

Two years ago, I was a final-year student at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). I was right at the finish line, but financial setbacks caught up with me. There was no money to continue, and I had no help, so I had to drop out.

For a while, I was stuck asking myself, “What do I do now?”

I needed money to survive, but I didn’t want to take just any available job. I had tried marketing before, working for fintech brands as a campus ambassador, but it was too stressful. What I actually enjoyed was cycling. I realised I could deliver packages on a bicycle to earn a living and escape life’s troubles while doing what I loved.

That was how I became a delivery rider.

Sometime in March/April, I was working with another delivery company. I wasn’t satisfied with how stressful the setup was, but I kept pushing because I needed to move forward. One day, someone shared a flyer for a new food delivery app called Swoop.

I downloaded the user app and thought, “Why not check if they have a rider app?”

They did.

I signed up, my account got approved, and I decided to give it a shot the next day. The moment I completed my first order, I liked how straightforward it was. On Swoop, you just pick up food from the restaurant and take it to the customer; no complicated steps. The pay per delivery was higher, and I was getting consistent orders. Within four days, I decided to focus on Swoop full-time.

It was a new platform, but one thing I’ve learned from years in the delivery business is that customers don’t necessarily change across platforms. In this industry, you deal with all kinds of people every day. 

Some customers look down on you like you’re nobody, acting like, “Just give me my order and get out.” But I never let it get to me. I always remind myself that a hungry man is an angry man. Once you understand that, it’s easy to stay calm and treat everyone with respect, no matter their attitude.

And then there are the great days and customers who tip well. I once had a Swoop customer who was so impressed by my speed and politeness that they tipped me ₦5,000 on a single delivery. Those small moments made the daily hustle feel worthwhile.

Three months into the job, my income was starting to stabilise, and things were looking good. I didn’t know a massive storm was building in the background.

One day in early July, my landlord handed my roommate and me a quit notice. They wanted to renovate the building, and we had to move out.

Anyone who lives in Lagos knows a quit notice might as well be a death sentence. 

Finding a house in this city is a nightmare. An apartment’s rent might be ₦300,000 or ₦400,000, but by the time agents add agreement, commission, and total package fees, the total bill jumps to over ₦1 million. My share of the money needed to secure a new apartment was around ₦500,000 to ₦600,000 — money I did not have sitting in an account.

Right in the middle of this panic, Swoop reached out to me. They said they wanted to do a media feature and would spend a full day filming me to understand how I work, interview me about my background, and document my daily routine as one of their top riders.

Honestly, my head wasn’t fully there. I was tired, stressed about housing, and thinking, “Abeg, nobody should stress me today.” But of course, I couldn’t let my emotions show.

On the day of the interview, I put on my gear, smiled for their cameras, and did my deliveries professionally. As a delivery rider, I simply can’t pass my personal frustrations onto customers. I just kept praying for God to help me. I needed a miracle because there was no way I was going to solve my housing crisis without help. 

The Swoop media team spent the entire day following me around while I worked. At some point, I began hoping they’d at least gift me something. 

Surely, they couldn’t be following me around without a reward in mind, right? But every time my mind strayed to the possibility of getting a gift, I pushed the thought out. I’m a bit unlucky when it comes to hoping for things. My predictions don’t often turn out well, so I tried to let it go and just focus on doing my thing.

By nightfall, it started raining heavily. I was exhausted, cold, and just wanted to get something to eat and go home to sleep.

After shooting what I thought was the final scene in the rain, they said, “There’s one more thing.”

They handed me a letter. I joked to myself, asking if it was a love letter. But when I opened it and read the words inside, my brain froze:

“From all of us at Swoop, we would like to give you a token of appreciation of ₦1,000,000.”

I pulled off my raincoat cap in complete disbelief. I asked them if they were joking because it honestly felt like a prank. I’d never touched that amount of money at once before in my entire life, and it felt so unbelievable. I was moved to tears right there in the rain.

The first person I called was my best friend and roommate.

“Baba, where are you?” I shouted over the phone. “Come meet me at UNILAG right now!”

He’s a rider too, and he flew all the way from Mushin to meet me. When I showed him the letter, he started jumping up and down right there on the road. We both knew the pressure we had been living under regarding the quit notice.

The very first thing I did was take out ₦500,000 for my share of the house rent and deposit it with my roommate so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch it. It’s still unbelievable to think that, in a matter of hours, the threat of homelessness disappeared.

After sorting out house rent, I addressed the second most important thing in my life right now: my cycling dream. My ultimate ambition is to become a professional cyclist and compete globally, specifically in the Tour de France. 

I bought myself a proper racing bicycle so I could apply to official cycling clubs in Lagos. I also bought a better phone to document my journey, though it was unfortunately stolen shortly after. Still, I refuse to let that ruin the bigger picture.

Days after Swoop posted videos of my win online, of course, billing followed. As Nigerians, we are used to this. The moment people hear you’ve touched money, people who haven’t called you in forever suddenly remember you exist. To protect myself, I made sure I settled the housing and my racing bike first. Whatever little was left, I used it to gift the few people I could, telling the rest straight up what was left.

At the same time, the video has consistently led people my way, all wanting to learn more about Swoop. Even my fellow delivery riders from other platforms began calling me, teasing me as the “Swoop Golden Boy” and asking how to join. I’m not surprised. I’ve never heard of a delivery company gifting a rider this much. 

Consistency really pays. I was focused on my work and showing up in style. See how far that has brought me. When Swoop handed me that letter, they didn’t just make my day, they made my year, and changed the entire trajectory of my life. 

I still have the letter, and I intend to keep it for my grandchildren. It’s a major achievement for me, and they need to see it, too.

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