By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
Welcome to the developing world — the only place on earth where poverty and premium lifestyle coexist on the same face like a split personality. This is the region where a man can have ₵44 in Momo, zero fuel in his car, and three unpaid loans — yet still ask the waitress for Hennessy VSOP with a straight face. Dual personality is not a medical condition here; it is a survival strategy.
Here, a person can have the financial balance of a cassava farmer during drought season, yet carry themselves with the confidence of an oil tycoon who owns half of Dubai. People walk around with the boldness of billionaires but the bank balance of a dying village project. This is the continent where people’s facial expressions are rich, but their financial expressions are tragic.
This is the continent where poverty and luxury share the same selfie. A picture can show poverty in the background and confidence in the foreground. Someone is smiling into the camera while their landlord is typing a threatening message. Someone else is partying in the club while their electricity meter is on 2%. It’s a cinematic contrast.
A place where you can wear Zara on credit and still pose like a trust-fund baby. Credit lifestyle is not embarrassment — it is branding. Buy now, stress later. Pay later, pretend now.
Where everyone is trying to “live up,” but the bank account is violently saying, “Sit down.” Violently. Not politely, not gently — VIOLENTLY. The bank account is not whispering advice. It is kicking, screaming, throwing tantrums, and threatening to call the police.
The bank account is tired. It has suffered. It has been emotionally abused by impulse buying, bad decisions, soft life aspirations, and lifestyle on loan. It has seen more suffering than a Nigerian Nollywood protagonist. It is begging for rest while the ego is screaming for upgrades.
Here, the average person is both hunter and hunted — a financial lion chasing a gazelle, while simultaneously being chased by a bigger lion called rent. Rent is the apex predator. It has no pity, no sympathy, no emotional intelligence. It is the only entity that can humble anyone, regardless of gender, tribe, religion, or pride.
Rent does not negotiate. Rent does not smile. Rent comes early, hungry, muscular, and emotionally detached.
Even the bravest lion fears rent day. There are two things that shake grown adults in Africa:
1. Rent
2. Unexpected calls from “unknown number”
It’s a live-action documentary of National Geographic: Urban Edition. Where everyone is running — but nobody knows where. People are sprinting toward opportunities and sprinting away from responsibilities.
You will see human beings sprinting after opportunities like cheetahs, while dodging responsibilities like antelopes. You will see skills. You will see flexibility. You will see dodging that deserves an Olympic medal.
Everyone is stalking something — a job, a partner, a loan, an investor, a prey, a target, a sponsor. You are either chasing someone or someone is chasing you — sometimes both at once.
The ecosystem is balanced only because everyone is stressed. Stress is the national equalizer. Stress unites us more than national anthems.
Fun Fact #1:
This is the only region where someone can be broke, hungry, indebted, and still say: “I only drink Hennessy.”
My brother, your liver is living a better life than your wallet. Your internal organs are enjoying a billionaire lifestyle while your pockets are doing charity work. Your liver is upmarket; your wallet is low-income housing. Your taste buds are elites; your finances are peasants. This is the drama.
Relationships: The Original Pyramid Scheme
You think crypto crashed? Come to the relationship market.
Crypto at least has charts. Relationships here have mood swings, entitlement, expectations, and surprise financial requests.
Crypto has volatility; relationships here have volatility with makeup.
In the developing world, dating is not romance — it is venture capitalism. It is pitch meetings disguised as flirting. It is investment solicitation wrapped in compliments.
A pitch deck disguised as flirting. A soft life request disguised as affection. A sponsorship application disguised as “thinking of you.”
Everybody is pitching. Everybody wants funding. Even the “good morning” message is a financial signal. Even the selfie is a budget request.
There are business plans hiding behind “good morning.” There are budget proposals wrapped inside selfies. There are invoices hidden in emojis.
Some are looking for seed investment, others are going straight for Series B: Build Me a Lifestyle. Some women want a man who will “grow with them.” Others want a man who is already grown, planted, watered, and in harvest season.
The lifecycle of modern dating here resembles the funding rounds of a tech startup. With the major difference being: the startup sometimes succeeds.
The men? They’ve become GoFundMe accounts with legs. If a man stands still long enough, someone will ask him for transport money.
Every man is a charity foundation under emotional pressure. Every conversation is a fundraiser. Every argument ends with financial implications.
Every relationship is a nonprofit using love as marketing. Every date is a fundraiser dinner.
Fun Fact #2:
A man can be with ₵23.50 in his account and still confidently say: “Baby, I’ll take care of you.”
Take care of who? Even your MTN bundle is judging you silently. Your phone is buffering out of shame. Your bank app refuses to log in because it doesn’t want to embarrass you in public.
Men as Walking ATMs
This is the only place where a man will beg another man for money… not for food, not for school fees, not for emergencies, but to sustain the high-class lifestyle of a woman who doesn’t even know his middle name.
This is economic madness disguised as romance.
He will borrow from three friends, one cousin, one coworker, and drain his mobile money… all for a woman who calls him:
“My dear friend.”
“My dear friend” — the national anthem of romantic delusion. “My dear friend” is the emotional equivalent of a parking ticket. At that point, she’s not dating you. She’s outsourcing her expenses.
Predator or Prey? Just Choose the Shift
Morning shift: You are the predator — hustling, grinding, chasing opportunities. Your motivational mindset is active. Your hunger is your compass. Your dreams are louder than your debts.
Night shift: You are the prey — dodging mobile money agents, avoiding loan apps, declining calls from people you owe, and praying the woman you’re funding doesn’t ask for “small something” at 11pm. You change your walking route to avoid debtors. You go offline because your conscience is online. Your ringtone is a threat.
Here, life is Hunter × Hunter × Hunger. Every episode is sponsored by stress. Every season ends with tears. Every character arc features disappointment.
Fun Fact #3:
In the developing world, “Everybody wants the good life… without money.” It’s an Olympic sport. We are gold medalists. If ambition without funding were a global competition, we would host it, win it, and demand appearance fees.
Social Media: The Fuel of Delusion
Instagram has convinced everybody they deserve luxury. Self-worth is now measured in filters, not finances. Nobody wants “average.” Everybody wants curated perfection.
Everyone wants Dubai, Santorini, Cape Town, Lagos night life, Accra brunch, Range Rover, and soft life — meanwhile they’re living in a house where the prepaid electricity trembles at 17%. The light is flickering like it’s afraid. Your fridge sounds like it’s praying. Your water tank is suffering silently.
The contrast is wild. It is so wild that even reality is confused.
The Pyramid Scheme of Romance
Let’s break it down:
Level 1: The man is broke but wants to impress the woman. He is emotionally wealthy but financially missing.
Level 2: The woman wants a lifestyle she can’t afford, so she uses the man. She is not exploiting; she is “aligning with her standard.”
Level 3: The man borrows money from a richer man. This is where the trouble begins.
Level 4: The richer man is sponsoring two other women, so he borrows from his boss. The ecosystem expands.
Level 5: The boss is funding a politician. Hierarchy of suffering.
Level 6: The politician is borrowing from the World Bank. We have reached global scale.
Congratulations. Your relationship is now part of the global debt structure. IMF is indirectly your in-law.
The Economy of Pretending
Everyone is pretending to be rich to attract someone pretending to be impressed. It is delusion-funded attraction. Two people performing for each other while their pockets cry.
Here, you don’t date a person — you date their potential, their dreams, their Instagram profile, and sometimes their international accent they downloaded from TikTok.
Everyone is selling a trailer for a movie that doesn’t exist.
Fun Fact #4:
In developed countries, people live within their means. In developing countries, people live within their dreams. Big difference. Dreams are free. Reality is expensive.
The Final Irony
At the end of the day, everybody is both: a predator (trying to survive), and a prey (being hunted by bills, expectations, societal pressure, and loan apps sending daily reminders like obsessed exes).
The bills chase you with more consistency than your partner. Loan apps check on you more than your parents. And society is always waiting to mock your downfall.
And somehow… we’re all in the same trap — trying to live the good life with no financial life.
But don’t worry.
Tomorrow we’ll wake up, dress well, take pictures, post “soft life,” and continue the cycle. Because pretending is cheaper than changing.
Because in the developing world, every day is a LinkedIn motivation mixed with an empty wallet. A powerful caption with powerless finances. A soft life lifestyle with a hard life budget.
Author: John S. Morlu II, CPA is the CEO and Chief Strategist of JS Morlu, leads a globally recognized public accounting and management consultancy firm. Under his visionary leadership, JS Morlu has become a pioneer in developing cutting-edge technologies across B2B, B2C, P2P, and B2G verticals. The firm’s groundbreaking innovations include AI-powered reconciliation software (ReckSoft.com), Uber for handymen (Fixaars.com) and advanced cloud accounting solutions (FinovatePro.com), setting new industry standards for efficiency, accuracy, and technological excellence.