Readers say Valerie should upgrade Basil to her taste

But now she believes she has outgrown him and would not want to get married to someone who is not up to her standard.

Read her story here:

"My name is Valerie, a 26-year-old lady working with an oil firm in Lagos. I know many people will castigate and condemn me after reading my story but I beg you not to judge me.

Just put yourselves in my shoes and tell me what you would do if you are confronted with this dilemma. I know the decision I have taken will not sit well with some people but then, I have my life to live.

I have been in a relationship with Basil for over 10 years now but I have now outgrown him and want to call it quits but I don't know the best way to go about it without looking like an ingrate and a gold digger.

ALSO READ: Morning Teaser: 'I have outgrown my boyfriend; I want to move on'"

I was just about 16 and in Senior Secondary School 2 [SSS II], when I lost my parents in an accident. After their sudden death, there was no one to sponsor me in school and I had to drop out and had to go and live with my grandmother in the village.

Things were becoming so difficult for me when Basil came to the village for Christmas. One of my aunts introduced him to me and he asked for my hand in marriage with the promise to send me back to school.

He told me he was a commercial motorcyclist in Lagos and that he would do all he could to assist me. True to his words, Basil registered me in a secondary school where I sat for my school certificate examinations and when I got admission into the university, he also agreed to sponsor me.

He did all these with the hope of getting married to me in future which I accepted. While in school, I was always telling him to try and upgrade himself but he kept promising to do so without making any effort.

Even when I came to visit him in Lagos, I was shocked at the place he stayed but I tried my best to hide my dismay.

To cut the long story short, I am now a graduate with a good job and I think I have outgrown him. He is illiterate and I cannot see myself getting married to him.

ALSO READ:"Pulse Nigeria Poll: Read: rs say they would let go a woman who refuses to marry them"

I met this guy who is a lawyer and he has proposed marriage to me and after telling him about Basil, he said he would pay off anything he spent on me.

But my problem is how to tell Basil that I am not ready to marry an illiterate. How would people in our village look at me? My happiness is that he did not pay anything on my head which would make him lay a claim on me.

Please, I need your advice.

Valerie."

The teaser for the day was:

What would you tell Valerie to do?

How Nigeria voted:

Valerie should tell Basil that she cannot marry him - 16%

Valerie is just being ungrateful and will not go unpunished - 24%

Valerie should rather help Basil to upgrade himself - 56%

Valerie should pay Basil all the amount he spent on her - 4%

How would your vote swing here?