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Nigerian economist Pat Utomi says many people struggling with poor business sales and rising living costs mistake the effects of government policies for personal misfortune or “village people.”
Utomi, in a post on X on Sunday, described how traders, small business owners and young entrepreneurs often blame bad luck or spiritual forces for difficulties that he said were also rooted in the country’s economic conditions.
“A trader wakes up to poor sales and concludes that fortune has abandoned him,” Utomi wrote.
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He said some small business owners believed they were simply unlucky or cursed when customers stopped coming, while young entrepreneurs blamed themselves and their “village people” for circumstances beyond their control.
Utomi noted that fortune could sometimes play a role but questioned how businesses could succeed amid unreliable electricity, falling purchasing power, rising transport costs and increasing operating expenses.
“Yes, sometimes fortune plays a role. But how can a business thrive when electricity is unreliable, purchasing power is collapsing, transportation costs are rising, and the cost of doing business keeps increasing?” he asked.
Credit: The WhistleNewspaper
The economist said such difficulties should not be viewed solely as personal setbacks, arguing that they were also consequences of the economic environment in which Nigerians operated.
“These are not merely personal misfortunes. They are also consequences of the economic environment in which people are forced to operate,” he said.
Utomi said Nigerians needed to recognise the connection between their everyday economic struggles and decisions taken by those governing the country.
“Until Nigerians begin to connect their everyday struggles to the policies and decisions of those who govern them, they will continue to mistake systemic failures and ‘village people’ for their bad luck in their everyday life,” he added.
The tragedy is that many Nigerians do not recognise the connection between government policies and the hardships they experience every day.
A trader wakes up to poor sales and concludes that fortune has abandoned him. A small business owner watches customers disappear and thinks he is simply unlucky or cursed. A young entrepreneur struggles to keep his business alive and blames himself and his “village people” for circumstances beyond his control.
Yes, sometimes fortune plays a role. But how can a business thrive when electricity is unreliable, purchasing power is collapsing, transportation costs are rising and the cost of doing business keeps increasing?
These are not merely personal misfortunes. They are also consequences of the economic environment in which people are forced to operate.
Until Nigerians begin to connect their everyday struggles to the policies and decisions of those who govern them, they will continue to mistake systemic failures and “village people” for their bad luck in their everyday life.
— Pat Utomi (@UtomiPat) November 8, 2026
