Backfire/Gone-wrong Stories & Experiences

Last week, I went through a stressful situation with a project for my supervisor. I had worked tirelessly on it, spending late nights researching, double checking details, and making sure everything was accurate and well presented. My supervisor, who assigned me the task, didn’t offer much guidance along the way. I assumed she trusted my process, so I kept pushing forward. But after I submitted the work, she shocked me by saying I needed to redo the entire project. I felt devastated. All that effort, time, and care I’d poured in seemed to mean nothing to her. I couldn’t understand why she’d let me continue for so long only to cancel everything at the end.

What made it harder was realizing I’d done most of the work alone. My supervisor hadn’t given feedback or answered my questions clearly when I asked earlier. I’d stretched myself thin trying to meet what I thought were her expectations, only to hit a wall after submission. Starting over felt impossible, but since it was the final stage, I had no choice. I went home, tired and discouraged, and tried to force myself to redo weeks of work in just days.

Then, out of nowhere, things changed. The next day, my supervisor called and said she had reworked the project herself. Instead of redoing everything, she now only wanted me to adjust one chapter. I was baffled. Wasn’t this the same project she’d rejected completely the day before? The back and forth felt chaotic, but I was too relieved to dwell on it. I focused on fixing the section she wanted and resubmitted it, hoping this would finally be the end.

I’m still confused by her shifting demands. A supervisor should provide clarity, not leave you guessing. It’s frustrating to work so hard only to have someone dismiss your effort without clear reasons. But I’m trying to focus on the fact that it’s over now. The project got done, and I survived the emotional whiplash. Sometimes you just have to accept that not every challenge will make sense, even if it helps you grow.

In the end, I’m grateful it worked out, but I hope future projects won’t be this draining. Still, I’m proud I pushed through. If anything, this taught me to trust my ability to adapt, even when things feel unfair.

I'm someone who has always enjoyed music, whether loud or soft; wherever it is played, I usually enjoy good music. Until yesterday, that is. I heard it immediately around 12 AM, just when sleep finally decided to come to me. I had been struggling to sleep for some time, and the sleep wasn’t coming until midnight.

Just as I was trying to doze off, a particular neighbor started blaring very loud music. This really got to me. I could have let it slide, but today was different. I know I enjoy the music he was playing, but I was not having it. I do not joke with my sleep, especially when I’m stressed out and need to rest, and I had been forcing myself to rest. So, I quickly went to his room, knocked, and then gave him a little word of advice.

He wasn't expecting a knock on his door at that time, and the surprise showed on his face. But I also wasn’t expecting his music to blare that loudly around midnight, so he thought we were even. I gave him, shall I say, an untriggered blast, and he finally turned down the volume. I went back immediately and, while I was wallowing in self-pity, thinking it would take me some time to find my sleep again, I didn’t even realize when I dozed off. It turned out to be a good night's rest, and I woke up around 10 AM in the morning. It was worth it, even though I missed the first early morning mass, or rather church service. I still dressed and went for the evening mass.

I wanted to cook with my hot plate today, so I set everything up in the kitchen. I prepared all my beverages and chopped the vegetables I needed for the meal. I had already plugged in the hot plate to let it heat up before I started cooking. It usually takes some time to heat up, but once it's ready, it cooks very quickly.

While I was waiting, I suddenly noticed some smoke coming from the stove. I quickly looked over and saw flames flickering through the wall socket. I rushed over and thankfully I didn’t panic before I turned off the electric switch. The fire extinguished instantly, which relieved me greatly. Feeling a surge of excitement, I borrowed a pair of pliers from a neighbor and managed to fix the wiring before turning back on the switch. I ended up having a good cooking experience with the hot plate for some time, although at first, I was quite uncertain about whether to continue using it or switch to gas.

When I continued to notice the light flickering on and off, with the brightness dimming significantly before brightening again, I realized it was likely due to the hot plate. I decided to unplug it and switch over to gas. Once I switched to gas, I enjoyed a wonderful cooking experience.

The food turned out surprisingly well, even though I had to pause frequently to address the electrical issues and reconnect the wiring. Despite those interruptions, the final dish was even better than I expected, surpassing what I thought I could achieve if everything had gone smoothly.

I was up all night in "old schooling," going through the internet and equipping myself with knowledge and information. Actually, I was testing it, running this node and that node, trying to farm and all that.

It took me several hours. Some tasks were so engaging and stressful, and I knew about this particular testing that took me about three hours just to finish a single task. It was just a lot of load for me. But then I decided to get some rest. Later, at midnight, I tried to sleep, but it wasn't working.

I tried putting on some music and listening to it to summon the effect of the instrumental, but nothing seemed to be working. I kept the phone aside and turned off the sober music. I went to stretch myself also and walked myself just so I could be tired and sleep, but that didn't work until about an hour later. Then I dozed off and slept. When I woke up, I was just too weak to even walk.

It was a long journey from Anambra to Enugu, and I had dozed off in the bus when we reached a police checkpoint. A policeman tapped me awake and asked me to prove that I was Nigerian. I was still half asleep and confused, but I answered his questions. I understood that they were just doing their job, but it was still annoying to be woken up like that. After a few minutes, they let the bus continue on its way.

Feeling thirsty, I decided to buy a bottle of water from one of the road sellers near the checkpoint. I handed him a ₦1000 note, but he said he didn’t have change. I had heard too many stories of people running off with money, so I refused to give him the note until I saw the balance with my own eyes. He left to find change while I waited, watching him carefully.

A few minutes later, just as the driver was about to leave, the seller returned with the change. I collected my bottle of water, but to my shock, he suddenly lunged at me, trying to snatch the ₦1000 note from my hand. Instinct kicked in, and I quickly pulled back, making sure he didn’t succeed. The driver wasn’t going to wait, so I hurried back into my seat, still holding my money.

As the bus took off, I turned to my neighbor and gave him ₦100, asking him to throw it out the window. The water was supposed to cost more, but I wanted the dishonest seller to feel the pain of losing extra money for trying to cheat me. As the note flew through the air, I leaned back in my seat, shaking my head. Some people would rather be greedy and lose more than be honest and gain enough.

I came home to shocking news: we finally had light again after days! Excited, I rushed to find my charger and plugged in my phone.

Just 3 minutes later, smoke started coming out from the charger. I never suspected the voltage was high enough to burn it out. I also realized my phone had turned off too. After all this time without power, and on Valentine’s Day of all days.

The power blacked out again after 20-30 minutes, and when it returned, the joy was gone. Instead of sulking, I went to buy a new charger—at a ridiculous price, but I had no choice.

Now I’m charging my phone while boiling with anger. My fan is broken, and I’m sweating like crazy! Just my hand fan for relief. Until next time

I was already on the brink of sleeping when I heard my younger sister shout. I didn’t want to be disturbed. I didn’t want her to get me out of my warm bed. So, I laid there, trying to go back to sleep, until she called my name for a second time. Reluctantly, I dragged myself off the bed and headed toward the direction of her voice.

It was coming from the sitting room. When I opened the curtains to glance in, I saw her staring closely at one of her footwear. I wondered what could possibly make her call me and pull me from the depths of my beautiful sleep, which I cherished so much.
Everybody in the house knew that I don't joke with my daytime sleep, this is because I hardly slept at night.

As I moved closer to inspect what had caught her attention, I saw a scorpion. A king scorpion, to be precise. It lay there ready, waiting to sting her leg.

I held her gently and moved her back urgently, stepping in closer to protect her. My sister blinked up at me, with innocence in her eyes. It was her first time seeing a Scorpion that close.
I got rid of it afterwards and checked if there were more around the area.

I decided to stay inside my house today. I didn’t want to eat much, so I took out a special bread called love bites. I planned to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I thought that the next day I would eat something really tasty and cooked.

But by the evening, something strange happened. My stomach started making loud and funny noises. It felt upset! I went to visit my friend, and every time my stomach made a sound, he couldn’t help but laugh. I wondered how a simple piece of bread could make my stomach feel so weird. Bread is normally dry and should not cause problems, right?

I knew I had to eat something real because I didn’t feel good. Even though it’s usually not a good idea to eat heavy food at night, I ran to get a nice meal. I felt so much better when I ate and swallowed the food that evening.
Incase you are asking which heavy meal I went for, it's Swallow and Soup.

My ceiling fan was looking unsteady as it hung in the center of my room. It was time to take care of it, so I decided I would call an electrician within the week. After two days, I found an electrician who came to fix it. I thought he had done a good job, and I felt relieved.

That day, I had gone to school, and when I returned home, my mind was focused on studying for the exam coming up the next day. I positioned my desk right in the middle of my room, hoping the fan would blow cool air directly on me as I prepared to read throughout the night.

The looked alright, providing the perfect breeze, and I settled in, enjoying the comfort it gave me.
Just as I was begun to dive deep into my studying, the fan crashed down landing directly on my head. I stood frozen for a moment, and stared at the metal on my floor with shock. Miraculously, the blade didn’t scratch or injure me, but the head impact ached me so much that I felt all motivation to continue reading evaporate. I quickly tossed my book aside and crawled into bed.

That night was ruined for reading and turned into a deep sleep. I didn’t pick up a single textbook again until the next morning when I finally started to feel more like myself.

Despite my efforts to put it behind me, I couldn’t shake the irritation I felt toward the electrician. Did he really fix it properly, or had he simply made a careless mistake? Disappointment washed over me, and I found myself calling him to vent my frustration. If the fan had fallen harmlessly onto the floor, perhaps my anger wouldn’t have been so intense, but it had fallen on my head, the very head that needed to be clear and focused for my exam preparation.

My roommate was very happy and loud about how much she learned in her baking class. I didn't know she took a class, but she was so sure of herself. She asked me to help buy the things we needed to bake. I agreed and gave her a lot of money for the ingredients.

After we got the money, she bought all the things we needed to bake. Then, we waited for the special day to bake together. Before the day came, we made plans and got everything ready. We decided to cook a yummy meal too so that the day would be extra nice.

Finally, the big day came! My roommate got the kitchen ready. She put out bowls, cups, and trays so we could bake. As she mixed the ingredients, the sweet smell of it all was appealing.

Everything was going well until we put the dough into the oven to bake. At first, it tasted really good! I even tried a little bit before it went into the oven. But suddenly, something strange happened. The dough started turning into powder.

If you just looked at it, it looked hard too. But when I tried to hold it, it was all powdery. I felt sad because I thought we wasted our money.

But we didn’t want to throw it away, so we kept baking it. When it was done, we decided to eat it like that.

We planned a surprise visit for an old friend, but honestly, it was so last-minute that I wouldn't even call it a plan. The main reason for going out was to buy some repair items in a nearby town, but since we were already close to her place, we thought, why not stop by? When we got there, she was really happy to see us, and we spent about an hour and a half catching up before finally wishing her well and heading back.

Instead of taking a bus home, we decided to walk just for the fun of it. The night breeze was cool, and we were in high spirits, talking and laughing along the way. After a while, we came across some blockades on the road - nothing too serious, just high enough for a short jump. My two friends went ahead and leaped over them effortlessly, then turned to me, urging me to do the same.

I stared at the blockade for a few seconds, trying to judge the height and figure out the best way to jump over. Finally, I gathered my courage and took the leap, but it didn’t go as planned. I lost my balance mid-air and tripped, landing straight on the road. Thankfully, it was nighttime, so there weren’t many people around to witness my embarrassing fall. My friends burst into laughter, but I just dusted myself off and laughed along with them.

Determined not to let fear hold me back, I promised myself that I wouldn’t hesitate next time. When we reached another blockade, I focused all my energy and took a powerful jump. This time, I landed perfectly on the other side. I had regained my honor, at least in my own eyes.

The rest of the walk was filled with jokes about my failed attempt and how I "redeemed" myself. Even though I fell, I was glad I tried again.

Today, I visited my old roommate before heading back to my school hostel, carrying my last belongings. Just when I thought everything was fine, I tripped on a stone and fell hard. 😞

I landed on a rock that jolted my whole body. When I got up and dusted myself off, I felt a wave of panic—my phone! 📱

I pulled it out of my pocket, only to find the back of my iPhone 12 Pro Max cracked! I couldn't believe it. The screen was okay, but that crack looked painful. 💔

Such a disappointing turn of events, and it felt like it would ruin my whole week. Anyone else had a day go from good to bad in an instant.

After the fall, I walked back to my hostel, feeling pretty down about my iPhone 12 Pro Max. 😞 I had barely had it for two weeks after upgrading from an iPhone 8, and now it was already damaged!

I hadn't even gotten to enjoy that 'new phone' feeling. But hey, what can you do? If I find the money to fix it, great. If not, I guess I'll just have to live with it. A cracked back won't kill me!

We had been enjoying a constant and very reliable electric current for the past few months, and I did not know why calamity decided to visit my region. Just yesterday evening, as I was about to set my bed for sleep, the lights began to shake. They blinked multiple times and then went off completely.

Wondering what was happening, I rushed outside to see if someone was tampering with the wires or if something else had gone wrong. To my surprise, I discovered that not only was our house without power, but also several nearby compounds were in the same situation. Only a few houses still had their lights on.

We all wondered what was wrong. Within the next couple of minutes, the entire vicinity was thrown in darkness. The power had shut off completely, and not a song house had light.
I slept in darkness that night hoping for light but when morning finally arrived, we learned that the electrical system had been damaged and so we contacted the regional manager, hoping for a swift resolution to our plight. He was sounded surprised and replied that they were already working on it, but till now; we haven't seen electricity.

I woke up for school, but this day was different. I had an exam that I was really worried about. As I got out of bed, I remembered everything that happened the night before—a mix of studying, dinner, and trying to finish my homework before going to sleep.

When I looked in my closet, I had a big surprise. My white shirts, which are part of my school uniform, were all dirty. I realized I had worn them all the day before, and the shirt I planned to wear for the exam was still stained. I started to feel panic rise inside me.

I thought hard for a solution. I remembered the sweater I borrowed from a friend. It could hide the messy shirt! But when I looked for it, I saw that it was too long for me to wear over a wet shirt, and I couldn’t return it in bad condition. My heart sank even more.

Feeling desperate, I rushed to the wash basin and scrubbed the shirt as fast as I could. I hoped it would get clean and dry quickly. But as time passed, I grew more anxious.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I looked at the message and saw that the exam was postponed! I felt a mix of relief and frustration. I had spent so much time cleaning a shirt that I didn’t need to wear anymore.

Even with the news, I still needed to go to school, so I put on the wet shirt and ran out. The outside air was chilly, and I felt nervous about how I looked, but I tried to smile as I walked to school.

As the day went on, I felt tired and kept thinking about my choices. When I finally got home, I felt sick from the cold and the stress of the day

It had been a long and tiring day. As a member of the student electoral committee, I had spent the whole day sorting votes, moving up and down without rest. By the time I got home, I was completely exhausted. But hunger doesn’t wait, so I went straight to the kitchen to cook. I decided to make rice and stew, something quick and filling.

To save time, I prepared the stew first so that once the rice was ready, I could eat immediately. Everything was going smoothly, and soon, my rice was done. I was relieved, knowing I could finally enjoy my meal. But just as I was about to take the pot off the stove, the handle broke! It happened so fast, and before I could react, the pot slipped from my hands.

My heart sank as I watched my precious rice spill all over the floor. I stood there for a moment, shocked and frustrated. This was the last thing I expected, especially when I was so foolishly hungry. But I wasn’t about to let it ruin my mood. Without thinking twice, I grabbed a plate and started scooping the rice from the floor. Hunger had no shame, and at that moment, neither did I.

I served myself a full plate and left the rest on the floor. Right now, my only focus was refueling my body. I sat down and ate in silence, recovering my lost energy. The mess on the floor could wait, first things first. By the time I finished eating, I felt much better. Only then did I finally get up to clean the rest.

It was just three days until our next exam, and I decided to go get a haircut. A friend of mine decided to accompany me, so we went together. When we arrived at the barbershop, there was blaring music that made the atmosphere lively and entertaining. The place was well lit with white walls, creating an alluring sight.

The barbers had two other customers who were already seated and getting their haircuts. We took a seat on a comfortable sofa while we waited for our turn. The sofa was so cozy that you could easily fall asleep on it. There was even a charging socket nearby, so you could plug in your phone while waiting.

My friend and I were having fun, chatting and laughing until it was finally my turn. I left my phone on the couch and walked over to the barber’s chair. He greeted me with a friendly smile and started trimming my hair, engaging in light conversation as he worked. I could see my friend occasionally glancing at his phone, and the upbeat music provided a great backdrop to our experience.

As I relaxed in the chair, I felt a sense of relief from the upcoming exam stress. Once the haircut was finished, I looked in the mirror and felt a wave of confidence wash over me.

When I returned to the sofa, I reached for my phone, only to find it missing. A knot of anxiety formed in my stomach. “Hey, have you seen my phone?” I asked my friend, who looked up with a puzzled expression.

searching his face to see if he was tricking me, maybe hiding my phone just to get me anxious. But he looked so innocent, wearing a genuinely bewildered expression. Even so, I couldn't help but pester him. “Come on, just bring out the phone so I can pay for the haircut, and then we can get going,” I insisted.

He stood firm, adamantly denying that he had taken my phone. After some back-and-forth, with hesitations and arguments, it became increasingly clear that he truly hadn’t touched it. My heart sank as I realized the worst: my phone was actually gone. It had been stolen.

I felt a wave of panic wash over me. I took a deep breath and made my way back to the barber. “Excuse me,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “I think my phone has been stolen. Did anyone see anything?”

Unfortunately, the barber's response was far from reassuring. He couldn't provide me with any reasonable or responsible reply. I could see he was busy, but the lack of help was disheartening. In that moment, a heavy sense of loss settled in. I knew I had lost something tangible, something that held not just value but many of my personal memories and contacts. I could already feel the dread creeping in, knowing there was no way I would be getting it back.

A man was contacted by a foreign number one day with an offer for a job that promised he could earn 100,000 naira daily. It sounded too good to be true, but out of curiosity, he decided to give it a try. The task was simple; just liking photos online and after completing a few tasks, he was paid 1,500 naira. Feeling encouraged, he thought maybe this was a genuine opportunity.

The next day, the people behind the foreign number introduced him to something more exciting: a money-doubling scheme. Tempted, he decided to try it out with 12,000 naira. To his surprise, he received 25,000 naira in return. It seemed legit, and he started to trust the process.

On the third day, things changed. The group announced that the minimum investment had been raised to 30,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 naira. Greed got the better of him, and he decided to invest 30,000 naira, hoping for even bigger returns. But this time, after sending the money, he was removed from the group. The foreign number stopped responding, and it became clear he had been scammed.

We were having a good conversation over time, and we didn't know how time had already passed. My friend was up on his bed while I stood behind his table trying to write off some things. And then I looked back and realized that the mosquito was already killing him where he lay. I squatted down with my torchlight, and I was able to find about millions of mosquitos encircling his stomach area.

I came to a halt while some made it away. I didn't just go back to the table where I was focusing on a particular task. When I looked back again, he was actually suffocated by a multitude of mosquitos again. They were landing on his nose, his neck. It was like they came to party on him, and if they had their way, some would have even landed on his private parts.

I still got to kill most of them all, slapping my friends body hard to catch a lot in my palm. The heavy sleeper didn't fidget or show sign of life. He was enjoying his sleep.

Last night, just as I was getting ready to step out and buy food, something strange happened. I had just finished dressing when I noticed my light bulb shining unusually bright. It didn’t feel right, and I immediately knew something was wrong.

Without wasting time, I turned off the light and quickly unplugged my socket. I didn’t want to take any risks. Just as I finished, I heard the sound of the outside bulb exploding. That confirmed my suspicion, something was definitely off with the power.

Later on, I found out that the voltage had suddenly spiked. It wasn’t just my place; many people in the area suffered damage to their appliances. Fans, TVs, and fridges got destroyed, almost like a joke.

Thankfully, my quick reaction saved me from any damage. I couldn’t stop thanking God for the wisdom to act fast and avoid what could have been a very expensive mistake.

I was in my bedroom when I started smelling something burning coming from the living room. I rushed out to see what was happening and found my charger, the brand new one I had just bought in flames. It was burning, not just smoking.

I quickly moved to the fuse to switch it off, but my sister rushed in to unplug the charger. I shouted at her because I was worried she might get electrocuted by touching the charger, even though only part of it was on fire. I managed to turn off the fuse before carefully removing the charger.

As I stood there, I couldn’t help but think about how much I had spent on that charger. It wasn’t just a regular one, it was a high-quality model that cost more. But I was relieved that no one was hurt and that it didn’t affect anyone. At least I was safe, satisfied, and I knew I could get another one.

Recently, I’ve been dealing with so many frustrating issues, especially with banking services. It feels like the whole system is under some kind of pressure because transactions are failing left and right. Payment services have been poor, and it's affecting basic things we do every day. It’s hard to tell if this problem is with just one bank or all of them, but it’s been stressful.

One of the worst experiences happened when I went to buy gas for my cooking cylinder not far from my place. I had some cash on me and my ATM card, thinking I’d be fine either way. After bargaining with the gas seller, I decided to pay with my card to save the cash I had. The card transaction failed, but to my surprise, I was debited. I explained this to the seller and asked him to give it some time, hoping I’d get a refund, but nothing came through.

To make matters worse, I decided to try a transfer using USSD. I thought it would save the situation, but it only made things worse. The same thing happened; another debit on my account, but the seller didn’t get credited. At this point, I had two failed transactions hanging, and I was out of cash. Luckily, the man knows me, and he trusted me enough to let me go. He told me to come back when the money is refunded, which was a huge relief.

Thankfully, both refunds came through a few minutes ago, so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. Tomorrow, I plan to try again, and I can only hope it won’t be another waste of time. These issues with banks need to be sorted out quickly because they’re making life unnecessarily difficult.