In 2018, I was learning shoemaking, and one day I got to the shop late. My boss told me to kneel outside, then handed one of my seniors a belt and told him to flog me if I moved. Lmfao 😭 I looked at my senior, stood up without saying a word, went inside, packed my things and left. My boss was shouting, “Did I tell you to stand up?” but I didn’t even look back. That was my last day there. When I got home and told my mum, she said they were lucky I left because if anyone had flogged me, they would’ve regretted it. And trust me, I know my mum 😭 A few months later, I started learning printing on mugs, clothes and picture frames. During a fuel scarcity, my new boss sent me and a senior apprentice to buy fuel. He specifically told us not to buy if it cost more than ₦700 per litre. We searched everywhere until we finally found somewhere selling at ₦700.65. Just 65 kobo extra. We bought 20 litres and returned to the shop. This man asked why we bought it despite the extra 65 kobo. We tried explaining, but he dragged my senior inside and beat the hell out of him. And while beating him, he kept saying I was next. Omo, I ran home out of fear 😭😭 After a few more years of trying different things, I eventually found my way into tech, and thankfully, I’m doing well for myself today. Looking back, some of the things apprentices went through in the name of learning a skill were actually insane.