Decenter Your Enemies

Nollywood has Nigerian Christians in a chokehold and we need to talk about it.

Picture this; A coven of witches, six women gathered around a pot with someone’s photograph inside it. Candles lit. Thunder rumbling. One woman hisses, “She just bought a new car.” Another responds, “We must bring her down.” Then everybody starts chanting aggressively while the victim suddenly develops a mysterious cough in the next scene.

This is the mental image I assume a lot of Nigerian Christians have of life. A permanent state of spiritual ambush. A world where somebody, somewhere, is always plotting your downfall because you appear to be doing slightly okay.

And if you ask me, I will tell you plainly that most people are not thinking about you that much.

I’m not naïve. I understand that evil exists in the real world and that human beings can be wicked; sometimes very wicked. Jealousy exists. Sabotage exists. Abuse exists. Manipulation exists. I know that there are genuinely malicious people in the world. But Nigerian Christianity, heavily assisted by Nollywood, has stretched this idea into pure paranoia so much that we have become a society obsessed with enemies.

Every inconvenience has now become a spiritual warfare.
You lost your job? Enemies.
Your relationship failed? Enemies.
You have a miscarriage? Enemies.
Your business is slow? Enemies.
You posted a vacation picture? Ah. Now the enemies have seen you.

At some point, we need to ask ourselves a serious question. Are these enemies not busy?

Because the scale of attention Nigerians believe they are receiving from unseen spiritual attackers needs to be studied. Apparently, somewhere in the village, there is a full-time department dedicated to monitoring people’s lives.

My very religious, Deeper Life-attending aunt harshly chastised my mother because my mom allowed me to post her on Facebook. We had gone on a mother-daughter date, had a great time, took pictures, and I posted them online. My aunt reacted very badly because, according to her, “the enemies” would see that my mother was happy and strike.

What enemies?

You mean we now have to hide? A woman cannot enjoy lunch with her daughter without triggering a coordinated spiritual attack? Do you hear how exhausting that sounds?

You’d think this is an isolated mindset but it’s not. It’s everywhere. Have you ever visited a Nigerian Pentecostal church? Ha! Nigerian Christians have been conditioned to live in perpetual fear of enemies. There are enemies all around them that they must subdue and conquer. Everything good must be concealed because somebody somewhere is supposedly waiting to destroy it.

I think Nollywood plays a massive role in shaping this worldview. For decades, our movies trained people to interpret life through the lens of spiritual conspiracy. Somebody is always consulting a babalawo because their nephew bought a Honda Accord. A stepmother is always sacrificing somebody because their business is doing well. There is always one auntie with red eyes who hates prosperity for no reason whatsoever. After years of consuming these stories, people started carrying that worldview into real life.

Now combine that with certain strands of Nigerian Christianity that already center warfare, demons, monitoring spirits, ancestral curses, and destiny destroyers, and you have an entire culture emotionally addicted to enemies.

Meanwhile, sometimes the only enemy is your mind. Sometimes it’s anxiety. Or life just being randomly shitty and unfortunate. But no. Everything must become a spiritual warfare because how else will your pastor eat if he doesn’t convince you he’s warding off invisible evil?

There is also something seductive about believing you are constantly under attack. It makes ordinary struggles feel grand. You know? It certainly adds some cinematic quality to your suffering. Now you are no longer just dealing with life; you are a chosen warrior in an epic battle against dark forces.

But what a miserable way to live.

What kind of chaotic existence is that? All the fear and suspicion has to get exhausting at some point. Now you cannot simply enjoy your blessings without imagining a crowd of invisible haters foaming at the mouth because you flexed too hard online.

At some point, Nigerian Christians need to release themselves from the shackles of enemies.

Decenter enemies, please. Life is not a Nollywood movie. Not every setback is spiritual. Not everybody envies you. Not everybody is obsessed with your downfall.

A lot of people are too consumed by their own problems to dedicate their lives to destroying yours.

Let it go.

You hear?