By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
The Way We Live: Must Everything Be Village People’s Spiritual Attack? Oma Wonders
“Oma, I think somebody is attacking me spiritually.”
I looked up from what I was doing.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just said somebody is attacking you.”
“Yes.”
“So you must know who.”
She shook her head. “That is why it is spiritual. You cannot see them.”
I laughed.
She did not.
“My business was doing well,” she continued. “Suddenly, everything changed. Customers stopped coming. Things started going wrong. My friend said it could be village people.”
“Village people?”
“Yes. You know how these things work.”
I smiled. “Do the village people also control your business hours?”
“What do you mean?”
“How often do you open the shop?”
She became quiet.
“And how often do you advertise?”
Another silence.
“Have you checked your prices against your competitors?”
“Oma, why are you asking me business questions when I am talking about spiritual attack?”
“Because both things can exist in the same conversation.”
That was when she became annoyed. And honestly, I understood her.
For many Nigerians, the spiritual is not something kept in a separate corner of life. It enters our conversations about marriage, business, health, children, employment, money and even ordinary bad luck.
Someone loses a job and says, “My village people are at work.”
A relationship ends and somebody says, “There is a spiritual hand in it.”
A business collapses and the first question may not be, “What went wrong?” but, “Who is fighting you?”
Sometimes, that belief comes from genuine faith, sometimes from fear, and sometimes, it becomes a convenient way of avoiding a question we do not want to answer: What part of this problem is mine?
“Why were you sacked?” I once asked someone.
“My village people.”
“What happened?”
“My boss said I was always late.”
“So your village people were the ones keeping you in bed?”
She laughed.
Then she stopped laughing.
“You know, Oma, I actually was late a lot.”
There it was.
Sometimes the enemy is not hiding in the village and sometimes the alarm clock is right beside us.
That does not mean spiritual attacks do not exist for people who believe in them. It means we should be careful about attaching a spiritual explanation to every disappointment before examining the facts.
Interestingly, even the Bible calls for discernment. First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.”
That instruction is worth thinking about.
“Try the spirits.”
Test them.
Examine them.
Do not simply believe every explanation because it sounds spiritual.
The Bible also says in James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
That verse makes the conversation even more uncomfortable.
If I pray for my business but refuse to learn how to manage it, what exactly am I expecting prayer to replace?
If I pray for academic success but refuse to study, should I blame an enemy when the examination result arrives?
If I pray for a healthy marriage but refuse to communicate, apologise or change harmful behaviour, should every disagreement become a spiritual battle?
“Oma, you are making spirituality sound like common sense.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
She laughed.
“Maybe not.”
The interesting thing is that Nigerians are not alone in looking at life through spiritual explanations.
A 2025 Pew Research Center survey across 35 countries found that 72 per cent of Nigerians surveyed believed spells, curses or other magic could influence people’s lives. Ghana recorded 87 per cent, Kenya 76 per cent and South Africa 71 per cent. Colombia stood at 72 per cent. (Pew Research Center)
The belief is not limited to Africa.
The survey found that 49 per cent of respondents in India expressed the same belief, compared with 30 per cent in the United States and 21 per cent in Japan. (Pew Research Center)
So, no, this is not simply a Nigerian obsession with “village people.”
Across societies, human beings have always tried to make sense of things they cannot explain.
The difference is often in what we do after finding an explanation.
Do we stop there? Or do we investigate?
Imagine a woman whose business suddenly loses customers.
One person tells her, “Somebody has attacked you.”
Another asks, “Have your customers moved to another supplier?”
A third says, “Let us look at your prices.”
A fourth says, “Have you changed the quality of your products?”
And, yes, she may still decide to pray. Why must prayer and practical investigation fight each other?
They do not have to. Faith does not have to mean abandoning common sense.
Prayer does not mean refusing advice and spirituality does not cancel responsibility.
Even within Christianity, the idea that faith should produce action is firmly rooted in Scripture. James describes faith and works as working together.
Perhaps this is where our conversation about “village people” needs to become more mature.
There may be things we genuinely cannot explain, may be spiritual experiences people have that are deeply personal and real to them.
There may also be times when someone needs prayer, counselling, medical attention, professional advice or simply an honest conversation.
The danger begins when every problem receives the same answer.
“My husband left.”
“Village people.”
“My business failed.”
“Village people.”
“I lost my job.”
“Village people.”
“I failed my examination.”
“Village people.”
“At this rate,” I told my friend, “the village people are working harder than everybody in Nigeria.”
She burst out laughing.
“But seriously,” she said, “what if there really is a spiritual attack?”
“Then pray.”
“And?”
“Investigate.”
“And?”
“Take responsibility for whatever is yours.”
“And if I do all three?”
“Then at least you are not sitting down waiting for your village people to change your life.”
She smiled.
Maybe that is the balance we need.
We should not ridicule people for believing in spiritual realities. At the same time, we should not encourage fear by turning every setback into evidence of an invisible enemy.
There is a difference between spiritual discernment and spiritual suspicion.
Discernment asks questions. Fear assumes answers.
Discernment can make room for prayer and wisdom. Fear can make us blame people we have not even spoken to.
And sometimes, fear can make innocent people become enemies. That part worries me.
Because once we become convinced that somebody is spiritually responsible for everything going wrong in our lives, we may begin to accuse relatives, friends, neighbours or even strangers without evidence.
“Maybe your village people are innocent,” I told my friend.
She looked at me.
“Oma, don’t push it.”
I laughed.
“I’m only saying.”
“Please, leave my village people alone.”
We both laughed again.
But underneath the laughter is a serious truth.
Life is complicated. Some things will remain unexplained. Some disappointments will hurt. Some prayers will seem unanswered. Some seasons will make us ask questions we cannot immediately answer.
But not every closed door has a human enemy behind it. Not every failed business is a curse. Not every delay is an attack.
Sometimes, we need prayer, wisdom or help. And sometimes, we simply need to admit that we made a mistake.
That admission does not make our faith smaller. It may be the beginning of growing wiser.
Personal Thoughts:
I think faith becomes stronger, not weaker, when we learn to ask questions. If I believe God can guide me, I should also be willing to examine my decisions.
If I believe in prayer, I should not be afraid of hard work. If I believe spiritual battles exist, I should still be careful about accusing people without evidence.
Maybe the real challenge is not choosing between faith and responsibility. Maybe it is learning to carry both.
Sometimes the person we call “village people” may simply be the person we refuse to hold accountable; ourselves.
One Thing Worth Remembering:
Prayer can give us strength, but wisdom helps us recognise what needs to change.
Let’s Talk:
Have we become too quick to blame “village people” for problems that may have practical explanations?
Or do you believe some situations genuinely require spiritual interpretation?
I want to hear from both sides.
Editor’s Note:
THE WAY WE LIVE looks at the beliefs, conversations, habits and contradictions that shape everyday life. This piece does not dismiss spiritual beliefs; it asks whether faith, discernment and personal responsibility can walk together.
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