The Death Of General Chris Alli And A Tough Lesson On Procrastination -By Joe Dauda

About two months ago, my sponsor instructed me to interview the former Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army, General Chris Alli. But I kept dilly dallying and did not apply myself to the assignment, which was in connection with something I was writing. It wasn’t really that I was just dilly dallying. I had some engagements: but I know I could have improvised if I had wanted to.

I did not.

Now, the man is dead.

I made a random call to my sponsor on the morning of 19th November, only to be told that General Chris Alli had died that very morning.

Whatever information I had hoped to get from the man is now inside his brain, which is no longer accessible to me or even to his best friend. Not even the Nigerian Army can ask General Chris Alli any question ever again and hope to get an answer.

What a loss!

I deeply regret my delayed action.

And for this error of judgment, note that there shall be no remedy. I have one of his books with me but what I wanted to ask him were rather original questions on a unique subject.

Who would have thought that, from the day I was given his two numbers, the old soldier had less than three months more to live? Of course I would have acted differently if I had known that. I dilly dallied because I did not think he would be dead before the end of November, neither did the thought ever occur to me that, if I did not interview this man immediately, I would never be able to do so again.

If only I had known.

But I did not know.

Neither do you know when the opportunity to do certain things will be permanently lost — like my opportunity to interview the former COAS has now been permanently lost.

I hate to be the one to state it but some people alive today may no longer be alive on the 1st of January. Yes, it is not your portion. But these things happen and the point of this piece should not be lost. As the English man says, make hay while the sun shines. Seriously. You have no idea what tomorrow has in store for you and even for those whose lives have a great impact on you. Do not postpone until tomorrow what you can do today. No wonder, the Bible says:

“Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7.

Note that it didn’t say tomorrow. It says today; because tomorrow does not belong to you.

I pray I don’t have to learn this tough lesson a second time. I will expel procrastination from my dictionary — and so should you. After all, even when Judas Iscariot was intending to betray Jesus Christ, he was shocked when Jesus Christ said to him:

“That thou doest, do quickly.” John 13:27.

How much more then should you do, without delay, that thing you intend to do, which is not only honourable but legitimate?

Watch out for Part 2 of my ongoing series titled:

Israel-Hamas War: Are You Wiser Than The Saudis, The Emirates, And The Bahrainis?

If you somehow missed Part 1, it is available on request; or you can visit Opinion Nigeria Dot Com and search for Joe Dauda in the search bar.