Give to gain in practice: The daughter who carries a household
At 4.30am, while most of Mararaba still sleeps, Jessica Khaliat James is already awake. The sky is dark. The streets are quiet. But inside her home, the day has begun. As her mother stirs pots of akara and kunu, Khaliat prepares for a routine she has known since childhood—one shaped by discipline, endurance, and sacrifice. […]
Jessica Khaliat James
At 4.30am, while most of Mararaba still sleeps, Jessica Khaliat James is already awake.
The sky is dark. The streets are quiet. But inside her home, the day has begun.
As her mother stirs pots of akara and kunu, Khaliat prepares for a routine she has known since childhood—one shaped by discipline, endurance, and sacrifice. Before many young people her age wake up, she has already worked, served customers, and helped sustain her family. And when the sun finally rises, she does not return home to rest. She goes to the office.
This is the daily reality of a young woman balancing family responsibility, paid employment, and personal dreams—all before most people have finished breakfast.
A life between two places
Khaliat is a 28-year-old young lady from Southern Kaduna State, now living in Mararaba, Nasarawa State—a community often mistaken for part of Abuja. While her family resides in Mararaba, their livelihood depends largely on Abuja’s busy streets, where customer traffic is higher and economic survival is more attainable.
“She comes from a family of five: her parents and three children. She has two brothers and is the only daughter. Her father once worked as a personal assistant to a first-class chief, but his income was inconsistent. Her mother, Teni James, is the backbone of the household—a woman for whom work has never been optional, but essential.”
Describing a typical morning, Khaliat explains:
“Our mum wakes us up by 4.30am every day to make fire and put the groundnut pap—popularly called kunu geda, which is common in Northern Nigeria.”
While the pap cooks, Khaliat bathes and packs her office clothes for her second job. Her brothers assist their mother in packing supplies for the day’s business.
“My brothers help us take everything to the roadside, where we join the driver who takes us to Abuja every morning,” she says.
By 6 or 6.30am, they arrive in Abuja and begin frying akara, serving early customers before the city fully comes alive.
Growing up with responsibility
Khaliat began helping her mother at the age of eight or nine. What started as simple assistance soon became responsibility. She recalls a defining moment:
“There was a time my mother travelled and left the entire business in my care at that early age. I ran it successfully—handling sales, managing money, and returning profit.”
Today, those responsibilities have multiplied.
Each morning, she sells food alongside her mother. By mid-morning, she cleans up, changes clothes, and heads to her call-centre job, where she spends hours responding to customers—some polite, others difficult, all requiring patience and emotional resilience.
Both roles are demanding. On the hardest days—when exhaustion weighs heavily and motivation fades—Khaliat thinks of her mother.
“If she can sacrifice this much for me,” she says, “then I must keep going.”
In that quiet resolve lies the story of two generations of women—connected by sacrifice, strengthened by labour, and driven by hope.
From survival to expansion
Recalling the family’s move from Kaduna State to Mararaba in 2000, Khaliat speaks of the difficult period that followed her father’s loss of employment and the responsibilities that quickly accumulated. Her mother, who had always traded in akara, decided to continue despite the challenges.
“My mum started small. We were surviving almost from hand to mouth, and school fees were another struggle.”
Because Teni James had been unable to complete her own education, she became deeply committed to her children’s schooling. Through the proceeds of the akara business, she ensured they remained in school. This commitment led her to send Khaliat to a boarding school when she was in JSS 3, determined that her daughter would have better opportunities.
“I was so used to helping my mother at the market,” Khaliat recalls. I always came back whenever I could to help her sell.”
Living on double shifts
In 2020, a family friend named Adams, who admired Teni’s akara, helped her secure a space in Abuja, where patronage was significantly higher. This marked a turning point for the business and the family’s survival.
As the business expanded, Khaliat’s diligence and intelligence stood out. Adams later recommended her for employment at a company close to where her mother sold food. Since then, her life has been defined by double shifts every single day.
“My supervisor knows my story,” Khaliat explains. “Our family friend, Adams, spoke to him. So even when I come late sometimes, he understands my struggle.”
Not every workplace would show such understanding. But Khaliat believes her work ethic earns that consideration.
“I work very hard at my office job. That’s why they try to accommodate me, even when I’m late.”
When the workday ends, her responsibilities do not. She often returns home to help prepare ingredients and supplies for the next morning’s business.
“It is not easy,” she admits. “But I do my best.”
The cost and benefits of responsibility
Speaking about her personal life, Khaliat says she rarely goes out or attends social gatherings. Friends sometimes misunderstand her, assuming her to be uninterested or antisocial. The truth, she explains, is far simpler: she is exhausted.
“The little free time I have, I use it to rest,” she says. “I barely have time for myself.”
Despite her sacrifices, judgment still follows her. Some people see her selling food and assume that is all she does. They do not see the office job, the long hours, or the quiet endurance behind her daily routine. Khaliat chooses not to argue.
“I am proud of what I do,” she says. “It is honest work.”
In early 2026, her story reached a wider audience when a friend—who had long been aware of her double shifts—shared her journey on Facebook, praising her diligence and integrity. The response surprised her.
“I was shocked and encouraged by the comments and messages I received,” she recalls. “Men, women, and even young girls reached out. I felt deeply honoured knowing that my story inspires young girls to work hard and to support their parents, who sacrifice every day for our sake.”
Looking ahead, Khaliat hopes to return to school to further her education in Nursing while working part-time. She also dreams of starting an online grocery business, helping people shop while earning a living.
Still, she remains grounded.
“I take things one step at a time,” she says. “I know my limits.”
Speaking with Khaliat’s mother, Mrs. Teni James, she recounted how she began selling akara as early as Primary Three. She spoke about her early struggles and how she was unable to pursue further education—not because she lacked the ability, but because there was no money to pay her school fees. Survival demanded work, and work came early.
Marriage did not end that struggle; it expanded her responsibilities.
“This business helped me train my children,” she says. “It paid school fees. It paid rent. Sometimes even before my husband’s salary came.”
Today, she continues to sell akara in Abuja—not only to support herself, but also her family and her husband’s relatives, who benefit from the proceeds of her trade. Standing beside her every morning is her first child Khaliat.
“Khaliat is my only daughter,” she says. “Every day of my life, I thank God for her.”
Even when Khaliat attended boarding school, she returned during holidays to help. Some questioned Teni’s decision.
“Why send her away to school?” one woman once asked. “Why not keep her close to help you?”
But Teni had already made a promise to herself: her children would be educated.
In a society that often measures success by titles and comfort, Khaliat’s story reminds us that true strength is forged in responsibility. She is not just a daughter helping her mother—she is a pillar holding up a household, a bridge between sacrifice and opportunity, and a living example of what “Give to Gain” truly means.