Konnected Minds Podcast
Episode: The REAL Reason Young Ghanaians Are Struggling – Money, Girls & Internet Scams Exposed
Host: Derrick Abaitey
Guests: Shama (Sean), 19 (content creator, entrepreneur) & Kokudia "Kweku" Abechi, 25 (university student, entrepreneur)
Date: January 16, 2026

Overview

This episode dives deep into the core struggles facing young Ghanaians today: outdated education, unemployment, social and financial pressures (including relationships and peer comparison), and the growing allure of internet scams and gambling. Host Derrick Abaitey creates a lively, candid roundtable with two diverse young voices—one choosing entrepreneurship and rejecting university, the other trying to hustle through school and side businesses. The conversation is raw, self-reflective, and peppered with tangible stories and hard truths about fear, societal expectations, and the cost of chasing "success" in Ghana and wider Africa.

1. Outdated Education & the University Dilemma

Rejecting University: A Personal Story

• Sean (Shama), 19, explains his decision to skip university, citing the irrelevance of curricula:

  "I tried to look through what they are teaching at the universities and the things that they were teaching are outdated and they wouldn't serve me. Now, at the end of the day, university is also a business and they need to make money." (00:05)

• Describes being from a family of educators but wanting to carve a unique path influenced by entrepreneurial biographies and online content.

  "The content I consumed, I started consuming entrepreneurial content… people who are building businesses who are either my age or 70, it doesn't matter. The fact that they are doing something interesting and different piqued my interest." (06:14)

The Systemic Problem

• Both guests spotlight the origins of the schooling system:

  “The way school was set up, they were set up to churn out people who work in the factory… So companies would grow… Companies are not being created, and the companies that have been created are full. That is why we have the problem we have today.” (11:45, 13:29)

• Pervasive parental "status" pressure to push kids into university, regardless of child's interest.

  “When their child finishes university, they want their child to go and become a bank manager …instead of helping them grow their business and make it bigger.” (20:45)

2. Economic Pressures & The Job Market Reality

"Jackpa": The Search for Better

• Most students are planning to leave ("jackpa") after school; employment in Ghana is viewed as bleak.

  “Those that want to get a job after university are all thinking of flying…There are no opportunities here…we’ll fly.” (13:45)

Side Hustles & Sacrifice

• Kweku, 25, balances university and import business, describing the sacrifices involved:

  “It was a sacrifice I did. I wouldn’t eat twice a day. I would eat once … just to save that money… sometimes it’s buffalo, like three cities.” (44:14)

• The importance of using skills and networks (affiliate selling, observing family businesses) as survival and entrepreneurial tactics. (43:00 – 45:00)

Notable Quote:

• Derrick summarizes,

  “The fastest way to make money in 2026 is buying and selling. If you learn how to sell, you should never go hungry ever.” (46:15)

3. Parental & Societal Expectations (“Status” and Programming)

Cultural Programming

• Parental pride and “status,” not always aligned with economic sense or child’s passion:

  “The promise that you were given—that status: …for communities to see that my child is a doctor…” (20:17)

• Parents push children away from family businesses, then are surprised kids don’t want to take over:

  “They’ve basically, every programming has been to not be like me. Now what do you think is going to happen at the end of graduation?” (21:31)

External Pressure & Judgement

• Family and societal judgment loom large, especially when diverging from the norm:

  “I don’t even think it’s that my parents don’t want me to do what I want. Sometimes it’s like what other people will say about you. I think that is actually the challenge.” (24:10)

4. Money, Scams & The “Godfather” Culture

Why Internet Scams?

• Social media sets unrealistic expectations; lack of real options drives youth to seek shortcuts.

  “Social media has raised expectations of our life…Every kid now will probably say they will become a billionaire, but in reality, that’s not what will happen.” (32:30)

• Skills for scams are handed down peer-to-peer (“godfather” mentorship):

  “Mostly they start, that’s when this theme came about—Godfather …you try to get close to understand for him to show you…” (33:03)

Moral Complexity & Desperation

• The dissociative effect of online fraud (“avatars, not real people”):

  “When you’re scamming someone outside…You don’t internalize that there’s a human being who’s built 80 years of their life building this wealth…you’re just talking to a machine.” (34:36)

• Hunger and desperation as a root cause:

  “If you are rich in a poor community, you are not safe, because the people…are hungry. And when hunger comes too, there’s desperation.” (36:00)

Empathy for Those Who Scam

• “If I was the exact same person as them or if I was put in their environment, raised the way they were, I’ll do it.” (36:45)

5. Daily Pressures: Relationships, Social Media & Peer Influence

The Trap of Comparison

• Envy, insecurity, and “pressure” are heightened by social media:

  “Social media…you see a person like younger than you…it’s on the media, all this money, all these cars …you feel like, because if it was you, you’ll be happy to have it.” (47:00)

Host’s Perspective on Pressure

• Derrick describes being unaffected by social pressure due to self-motivation and “laser focus,” though acknowledges others feel differently.

  “People have said, ‘Hey Charlie, you know the house you live in,’ and I’m like, look, for me, it’s not even the end goal. I’m just getting by.” (52:29)

The Algorithm of Excess

• Shama says:

  “The algorithms reward these kinds of extreme lifestyles…If you are not extreme, you don’t cut through the noise.” (53:19)

Happiness ≠ Possession

• Derrick:

  “There are people that have got these things that you so called admire but they’re not happy…true happiness is not in possessions. It’s inside.” (55:24)

Girls & Money

• Kweku laments the “bills” that relationships add:

  “Sometimes you want to have peace with your money…But the bills from these people, especially the girls and your mom stuff too, they come unplanned.” (59:13)

• Both men caution young guys to focus on building a foundation before focusing on relationships:

  “At the early ages…16, 17, 18…you should focus on building a life first.” (60:44) “If the things you are bringing into your life are not adding to where you want to go, then they are not important.” (62:58)

6. Gambling: Risk, Reward and Lessons Learned

Gambling as an “Entrepreneurial Teacher”

• Kweku's personal lesson from gambling:

  “I lost all the money… How are we going to survive now? …as long as I'm alive, if I’m really going to take a risk in business…I’m not scared to go inside. If I lose all, I’m still alive.” (67:50)

The Addictive Cycle

• Shama on the psychology of gambling:

  “If there’s a possibility of you winning, even though you lose a hundred times, if there’s a possibility… it excites your brain chemical. The chemicals go off, you know, and it motivates you to just keep on doing more.” (65:01)

7. The Underlying Enemy: FEAR

Fear as the True Barrier

• Shama’s key insight:

  “Fear is the thing that is stopping people. Fear of how other people react to the stuff that you are doing, fear of your mother looking at you weird. That is what is stopping people and that is the problem… I want every young person, Ghana, Africa, to look into fear’s eyes today and say, you, I’m scared of you, and go.” (69:45)

• Beautiful snake analogy on fear and ignorance. (70:00)

8. Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “At the end of the day, university is also a business and they need to make money.” — Shama (00:05)
• “If you learn how to sell, you should never go hungry ever.” — Derrick (46:15)
• “If you are rich in a poor community, you are not safe. Because the people there are hungry.” — Kweku (36:00)
• “The algorithms reward these kinds of extreme lifestyles.” — Shama (53:19)
• “Fear is the thing that is stopping people…look into fear’s eyes today and say, you, I’m scared of you, and go.” — Shama (69:45)

9. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Guests' Backgrounds: 00:00 – 06:14
• The Education System and Parental Pressure: 06:14 – 21:00
• Job Market & Entrepreneurship vs. University: 21:00 – 29:00
• Internet Scams & “Godfather” Influence: 31:21 – 36:45
• Hunger, Desperation & Survival Strategies: 36:45 – 44:00
• Doing Business as a Student (Import Side Hustle): 44:00 – 46:56
• The Buying and Selling “Sweet Spot” in Ghana: 46:15 – 47:33
• Social Media Pressure & Peer Influence: 47:33 – 56:22
• Girls, Relationships & Financial Pressure: 58:53 – 62:34
• Gambling: Risks & Lessons: 64:27 – 67:50
• Overcoming Fear: 69:45 – 72:21

10. Final Reflections

This episode captures not only pragmatic advice for Ghana’s youth but also the emotional and psychological battles that define a young generation’s journey. Authentic, unfiltered, and empathetic, the conversation encourages self-discovery, calculated risk, and resilience. The hosts and guests urge listeners to view fear as a challenge, not a limit, and to resist hollow social pressures in favor of a life guided by self-awareness and authentic goals.

A must-listen for anyone interested in the realities of youth ambition and survival in modern Ghana and Africa.