At exactly 6:45 AM, Seyi’s day was already at its worst. His phone died overnight because NEPA struck again and his power bank wasn’t charged.

When he finally managed to get a power bank to get 15% charge into his phone, the Bolt app kept crashing. The job interview, the one he had been fasting, praying, and even sowing seed for, was slated for 8:30am.

He finally got a ride by 7:50am, only to land at the office at 9:30am, courtesy of Lagos traffic. Sadly, the interview over.

Later that day, while complaining in the group chat, one friend simply replied: “Omo, your village people follow you reach here.”

Everyone laughed. But beneath the joke was something deeper, something we do not talk about enough. Because in moments like that, it is easier to believe someone somewhere is after you, than admit that you might have just messed up.

Maybe it is time we asked a harder, more honest question, as Africans raised on a mix of faith, fear, and culture: Is it still village people or are we, across the continent, mistaking poor planning, weak systems, and personal negligence for spiritual warfare?

Because if everything is a curse, who then takes responsibility for the mess?

The Comfort of Blaming the Unseen

Blaming “village people” is almost therapeutic. It gives you an enemy to fight, a story to tell and most importantly, a reason not to blame yourself.

It is easier to say “they are after me” than to admit you didn’t prepare.

From a cultural standpoint, it makes sense. Many of us grew up hearing stories about relatives who used juju to ruin lives, about distant cousins who smiled at your wedding but hated your happiness.

The idea of spiritual sabotage is not just a superstition, it is the foundation that shapes the way many African families process success and failure. And, religion finds a way to amplify it.

Churches preach “back to sender” prayers. And as valid as these might be, it is not always the case. It has now become easier to locate evil in another person than accountability in yourself.

But the problem is this: when everything becomes spiritual, nothing gets fixed.

When Superstition Covers Up System Failure

Let’s say your neighbor had a miscarriage. Suddenly, her mother's step sister is to blame. An attack in her dream made her lose her baby.

But, no one is quick to check the condition of the clinic she used, or the competence of the nurse who attended to her as they are quick to point fingers to spiritual entities. We ignore the bigger problems because superstition gives us smaller, more personal ones.

When you fail a course, you quickly assume it is an ancestral curse attacking your brain. You suddenly forget the fact that you barely attended class or tried to cram a whole course outline a night before the exams.

Your generator goes off in the middle of a high-paying remote job interview? Must be your village people again. Or maybe it is just that you have never serviced it since you bought it in 2020.

And perhaps the saddest part is that the more broken a system is, the more likely people are to spiritualize their suffering. When healthcare, education, transport, or even employment systems consistently fail, we retreat to faith.

We are quick to whisper “dem dey do am” instead of asking why things never work.

Photo Credit: Teamly

Personal Irresponsibility Rebranded as Spiritual Attack

Here is the truth a lot of people won’t say out loud: many times, “village people” is just a coping mechanism for poor decision-making.

You spend money you shouldn't. You stay in relationships/situations you shouldn’t. You leave everything till the last minute and expect magic. You procrastinate until deadlines crash into you. Then when life comes crashing, the first thing you do is start praying against forces that might not even exist.

We plan weddings with no budget, start businesses with no strategy, move to new cities with no backup, then get surprised when reality slaps us.

It is not always spiritual warfare. Sometimes, it is your spreadsheet. Sometimes it is your lack of one.

There is also the matter of our obsession with image. We want to look successful before we can stand. We say “God’s got me” as an excuse for not putting in the work.

We trust vibes over preparation and then wonder why nothing sticks.

Photo Credit: Pinterest

The Psychology of Blame

There is a strange relief in not being the reason your life is not working. It spares you the guilt. It saves your ego. And when everyone around you is also blaming village people, it becomes a shared delusion.

But here is what that does over time. It creates emotional laziness. You stop analyzing your own behavior. You stop improving and learning. You grow older but not wiser.

And honestly, we have glamorized this mindset online. Twitter threads about spiritual attacks, skits that parody village people, TikToks that make light of “battling unseen forces.” And, it is funny until it becomes the only explanation we know.

At some point, we need to reflect and ask; who really is holding us back? Them or us?

Reclaiming Power Through Planning

This is not a dismissal of spirituality. This is a call for balance. Fast and pray but also plan and prepare. Let your war room also have a whiteboard. Let your “God will provide” also include a budget spreadsheet. Even, Apostle James, asked us to augment our faith with works or it will be useless.

You can still believe in spiritual warfare and believe in time management. You can still cast and bind and still have a calendar. You can speak in tongues and speak to a mentor about your career goals.

Accountability is not the enemy of faith. It is the partner of growth.

We need to start asking more questions. Questions like: What habits keep repeating in my life? What do I need to start tracking, writing down, or letting go? Who is actually holding me back or am I just afraid of trying harder?

A Cultural Shift is Necessary

It is easy to laugh about “village people.” It is an inside joke, a popular meme and a language we understand. But it is also becoming an excuse that is costing us progress.

We are not just fighting demons anymore, we are fighting deadlines, bad habits, and poor choices. The enemy is not always in your father’s compound. Sometimes it is in your Google calendar that you never use.

Let us normalize strategic thinking the way we have normalized superstition. Let us teach our younger siblings how to make vision boards, not just prayer points. Let us talk about emotional maturity and therapy as much as we talk about deliverance.

Maybe, your next breakthrough would not come from a vigil, but from a well-written proposal sent on time.

Sometimes It Is Not Spiritual

It is time we became brutally honest with ourselves. Everything is not a curse. Everything is not spiritual. Sometimes, you missed that opportunity because you never prepared. Sometimes, you are tired all the time because you didn't rest, not because someone is calling your name in a coven at night.

It is time to take back your power, to re-strategize, to grow and plan better.

Because maybe the problem is not “them.” Maybe the problem is you and maybe that is a good thing.

Because if it is you, then you can fix it.