Media personality Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi has ignited a fiery debate online after asking whether it is right to keep expensive gifts from someone who is no longer your friend.
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Leave it to Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi to ask the question we have all been quietly thinking about but were too afraid to say out loud.
The popular media personality and co-host of the beloved Loosely Speaking* podcast recently took to social media to spark a conversation that has since divided Nigerian Twitter — sorry, Nigerian *X — straight down the middle. The burning question? Should you keep expensive gifts after a friendship goes sour?
And honestly? E make sense make we yarn about this.
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When Bestie Becomes a Stranger
We all know how it goes. One minute, you and your person are thick as thieves — matching outfits for owambe, gisting till 3am, buying each other designer bags and the latest iPhones just because. The next minute, breeze scatter everything, and now una no longer follow.
But what happens to that ₦500,000 designer handbag* she bought you for your birthday? Or that *gold chain he gifted you to celebrate your new job? Do they go back, or do they stay?
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The Two Sides of the Coin
Nigerians, as expected, did not hold back in sharing their opinions:
Team “Keep Everything” argue that a gift is a gift — full stop. Once something is given, it belongs to the receiver. The friendship ending does not come with a receipt or a return policy. As one person put it, “E don cast, the friendship don go — but my Gucci slippers are staying right here.”
Team “It Depends” believe context matters a great deal. Was it a romantic friendship that turned toxic? Did the fallout involve serious betrayal? Some feel that keeping expensive items from someone who hurt you deeply can feel like carrying unnecessary spiritual and emotional baggage.
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What Do You Think?
Gbemi’s question cuts deeper than just material possessions. It touches on loyalty, pride, closure, and even our cultural attitudes toward gifts and relationships here in Nigeria.
In a society where friendship bonds can run as deep as family ties — and where “we grew up together” carries serious weight — a friendship breakup can feel just as painful as a romantic one. So it is only natural that the question of what to do with the remnants of that bond would stir up strong feelings.
Should the Birkin bag go back? Should the jewelry stay? Does the answer change if you were the one who ended the friendship?
Drop your thoughts in the comments — because clearly, Gbemi has opened a whole can of worms, and we are here for every bit of it.
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