Hunger and thirst have really turned many into what ordinarily they would not have become; they have enslaved themselves into what they can hardly get out from. Hunger is a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. Reaction to hunger differs in various individuals. When a baby is hungry, he cries out to the mother. Some journalists, due to hunger and temporary satisfaction have sold their conscience, integrity and dignity for peanuts, just like the biblical Esau, to some of these politicians who pose like Jacob of the Bible. They have no idea that there is power in both spoken and written words. Some when hungry can resort to assassination of character and image of innocent people through their maligning reports. You become a ‘pen-assailant’ just because of little bread the enemy of that person placed on your table. You trade your conscience and innocence and go to any height to hurt someone with your pen, murdering his career and image.
Hunger is one thing that has subjected many to all sorts of things and once the oil drops down the belly, some would begin to regret their actions. Yes! It is so because everyone has conscience and from time to time, your conscience will always rebuke you especially when you have got it totally wrong. You do not need police interrogation whenever you have done something wrong, your conscience will start the interrogation first and go far before any further interrogation if your crime calls for it.
The inspiration to put this down reminds me of the biblical Esau and Jacob. Esau who was the eldest son of Isaac came back from the field one day and was very hungry. His younger brother, Jacob, was already making food. Esau begged his brother, Jacob for some food. But his brother Jacob insisted that he trade his birthright for the food.
Genesis 25:29-34 New King James Version (NKJV)
“29. Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.
30. And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.
31. But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”
32. And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”
33. Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.”
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Within a twinkle of an eye, the transaction of birthright was completed by the two brothers just as some of us do today. It is imperative to note that it’s not only some journalists that act like the Esau of old, the attitude cuts across many other fields of endeavour. Another round of elections will soon be here. A political aspirant you know by all indication will never deliver dividends of democracy when he or she gets to power, is the same person you throw your full support for because the person shared N1000 or even N500 as ridiculous as it could be. He becomes your Jacob. He has nothing to lose, because he understands what you do not understand and that is the power in the trade and what you stand to lose later.
Genesis 27: 33-38, King James Version (KJV)
33. Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
34. When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”
35. But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
36. And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
37. Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”
38. And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
Little did the Esau of old know that what he thought were mere utterances could take away his authority. A star meant to shine upon others became a foot mat for those he was meant to shine above for not respecting the power of word. He never knew that a mere ‘take it and give me’ would actually take it forever for real.
The present day Esaus have something Jacobs want; Jacobs are desperate, they don’t care about what happens to your interest later, so long as they are comfortable and use you to get what is not theirs. They buy your future comfort with the temporary comfort they give to you.
Esaus are meant to be comfortable later in life but may be temporarily uncomfortable. Jacobs are opportunists, they use your temporary uncomfortable state or condition to trick you to get your future position or put you in a state of regret later in life.
Jacobs of our time just like the one of old, give you sugar with bitter taste embedded in it. When you lick off the surface, you will meet the main bitter taste and by that time, the swindler had gone too far and irreversible damages done to you.
The political Jacobs of our time understand one thing, just like the Jacob of old in the Bible, that certain humans cannot withstand hunger and that certain people can easily bend their will whenever they are hungry.
This is why they make things so hard for us to always be at their selfish beck and call.
Chukwudi Sopuruchi is graphic designer.
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