There is a phrase that ends all Nigerian victimhood: "Na who send you?" You took a risk. You failed. You complain. The response comes: "Na who send you?" Who told you to start that business? Who told you to date that person? Who told you to move to that city? Who told you to invest in crypto? The phrase shifts blame from circumstance to choice. It says your suffering is your own fault for trying. It is cruel. It is also weirdly comforting. If your failure is your choice, then your next success can also be your choice. The phrase is deterministic. It removes luck from the equation. It makes life a series of personal decisions with personal consequences. And the hypocrisy! The same people who say "Na who send you?" will say "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" when encouraging you. They want you to try, but they reserve the right to blame you for trying. It is the Nigerian paradox of ambition: encouraged and punished simultaneously. The phrase is most often used by people who have never taken risks themselves. It is their explanation for your failure and their justification for their inaction. Has "Na who send you?" ever been thrown at you? And did it make you defensive, or did you actually agree?
