Florence Uwaeme
A particular letter (which contains new rules as to what the duties of a lastborn are and aren’t) written by an embattled lastborn, Emmanuelle has gone viral after it was shared on Twitter by her sister, Mirabelle.
If you are a Nigerian, or you have lived with a Nigerian family, you surely will understand the pains of this last born. If you happen to be a lastborn in your family, you should be proud of this rebellious act that is initiated by a fellow last born who is probably tired of ‘slaving’ for the family and be up in arms by joining the movement.
In Nigeria, we tend to overdo some things in some ways. This is, however, understandable as we tend to be a little extra some times. In a typical Nigeria home, if the lastborn is a boy, he can be excused from some duties like plate washing and cooking; except in rare situations where there are only boys in the family. If it is a mixed family or an all-girls family, and a girl happens to be the lastborn, that girl automatically becomes an embodiment of house chores. You know why? Because there is an unwritten law in the family constitution that states “that under no circumstances should a younger sibling send an older sibling on any errand at all.”.
Some of the new rules include;
1. “I will wash plates used by me and my parents alone
2. “I will only wash pots used to cook family meal(not any pot used for cooking personal meals
3. “I will bath Zyron(the family dog) and clean after him
4. “I will not clean the sitting room as it is not my job.
The embattled lastborn went ahead to warn her siblings to desist from waking her up to put off the generator after she had gone to bed.
If you are a lastborn, you don’t have a reason to not join in the revolution already.
Here are a few suggestions for the hashtag. #lastbornslivesmatter, #lastbornsnotboboy, #lastbornsnotslaves and finally #freedomforlastborns.