MINIMALISM IN NIGERIA: HOW TO LIVE LARGE ON LESS.

Every weekday at 7:30 a.m., Paul drove his silver 2016 Toyota Camry through the streets of Abuja toward his office in the Central Business District. While convoys of shiny SUVs sped past, he kept his quiet lane. Few guessed this modest young man was the founder of a rising tech startup.

One Friday evening as they parked outside his one-bedroom apartment in Jabi, Cass, his girlfriend, sighed. “Paul, you’re a CEO. Why are we still in this old Camry? Why are we eating spaghetti at home when we could be at Hilton? People should know you’ve arrived.” To Cass, like many Nigerians, wealth wasn’t real unless it was visible—luxury cars, weekend trips abroad, designer clothes, and endless displays of “plenty.”

Not long after, Cass broke up with Paul. She left to date a flamboyant Abuja club owner who drove a 2025 Range Rover Sport, wore diamond chains, and was constantly photographed spraying champagne at high-end lounges. While Cass spent nights under strobe lights with loud music and endless bottles, Paul’s evenings looked very different.

His apartment was modest but purposeful. A sturdy desk, a plain couch, and a dining table filled the space, but his pride was a small library—books on startups, marketing, management, and biographies of great entrepreneurs, alongside fictions by African authors like Chimamanda Adichie. These broadened his perspective, teaching him empathy and culture.

“While others chased appearances in nightclubs, Paul sharpened his mind and vision.”

Minimalism gave him freedom. He wasn’t tied to the headaches of expensive car maintenance or weighed down by ₦15 million per annum rent in Guzape or Maitama, where luxury apartments were more about status than comfort. He could take risks in business without fear of collapse.

“True wealth isn’t plenty—it’s peace, clarity, and growth.”

Years later, that discipline paid off. His startup grew into one of Africa’s leading tech firms, attracting global recognition and creating jobs across the continent. His investments flourished, and he enjoyed financial independence while many of his peers were still trapped by debt from chasing appearances. Cass, meanwhile, watched her new man’s fortunes fade; the nightclub business dried up, debts piled high, and eventually, the Range Rover Sport had to be sold to settle creditors.

On a summer holiday in Venice, Paul’s story took a new turn. Strolling along the Grand Canal, he met Vera—a beautiful, successful Nigerian entrepreneur with thriving businesses in finance and beauty products, attending a global business conference. She admired not just his success but the empathy and depth shaped by years of thoughtful reading and disciplined living.

Vera shared his values, and soon she was reading alongside him in the quiet of their home, debating ideas from books, and taking long walks hand in hand as they dreamed about the future. Their friendship blossomed into love, and in time, marriage.

“He drove a Camry, built an empire, and became a billionaire.”

Together, Paul and Vera built a business empire that transformed industries across Africa. Within a decade, the couple were celebrated as billionaires, not because they chased “plenty,” but because they mastered the art of living large on less.