Influencer and well-known content producer Mariam Oyakhilome has described how hiring a family friend as her personal assistant (PA) ended tragically even though she was paid ₦250,000 per month.

Mariam revealed on her Instagram page that she first declined to recruit the woman because she liked working with strangers. However, she promised her a salary of ₦150,000 per month after getting her father’s agreement.

“This is why I don’t like employing people I know. One of my family friends reached out and said she wanted to do the job. I said no, I cannot employ you because I know you.

I want somebody I don’t know, so that I can hold them accountable. I spoke to my dad, and he told me to employ her so she could support herself. So, I put her on a ₦150,000 salary,” she said.

Mariam disclosed that after learning she could cook, she increased the woman’s pay by 100,000 to 250,000 per month, giving her transportation and food.

She remembered that the woman later claimed to have been hospitalised after being bitten by a scorpion. A few days later, she said that she had received a call from another business regarding a resume she had sent in before to being hired as a PA.

After finding that the employer had turned her down due to her age, Mariam stopped their working connection.

Mariam claims that the woman’s mother then got in touch with her, requesting that she help the family and cover her daughter’s tuition.

“I give her food, then I still pay her ₦250K. Now the mother is calling me to support them and pay her school fees. If na una, una go pay that kind thing? No be see finish be that one?” she added.

Online discussions concerning the difficulties of hiring friends and relatives have been triggered by her account.