You deserve better. When some Nigerians hear the biblical story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob, they swear it can never be them but look around.
Some of you are already running up and down, looking for where they are sharing the next two cups of rice, just so you can collect it and sell your future to Tinubu for uncooked rice.
Rice you don’t even know where you’ll get the ingredients, gas, or kerosene to cook. At least Esau didn’t go searching for food. The food met him and it was prepared. Cooked porridge, warm, garnished, with aroma.
There was dignity, even in his poor decision.
What we are seeing today? People selling their rights with no dignity at all and please, don’t come and say it is hunger. Yes, hunger is real but this is beyond hunger. This is about people who have lost a sense of self-worth, self-preservation, and respect for themselves.
Some of you hear that story and feel smarter than Esau. You tell yourself, “I could never make that mistake ”but look closely, you already are.
Some Nigerians don’t even know their worth anymore. They have reduced themselves to thinking their value is just a few cups of rice. That’s why you’ll hear a grown adult say things like: “If the only thing I can get is rice, let me go and collect my own.”
However, pause and ask yourself: Don’t you deserve security? Don’t your children deserve access to quality education? Don’t you deserve a functioning healthcare system? Don’t you deserve a government that listens and responds to your struggles?
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Don’t you deserve stable electricity? Policies that actually support your life and your business? Access to grants and opportunities that can improve your standard of living? Respect from other countries? Leaders that are accountable? Good jobs? The ability to travel freely without unnecessary restrictions? Or is your entire future now worth a few cups of rice?
That is the real question because this is not just about food. This is about value. This is about understanding what your vote represents. This is about knowing what you are giving away in exchange for something temporary.
The difference between you and Esau is this: He didn’t have a second chance. You do. You still have the opportunity to correct it. To reject short-term survival that destroys long-term progress. To choose something better.
If you truly want a different Nigeria, then it has to reflect in your decisions. It has to reflect in your vote. Support competence. Support leadership that has something to show. Support Peter Obi if that aligns with your belief for a better system.
Most importantly: Get your voter’s card ready, send money and food stuff to your aged parents, educate the people around you because change will not come from complaining. It will come from conscious, informed decisions.
Iniobong Udoh
