At a mechanic’s workshop, I noticed a particular car that had been parked there for nearly four years. It was quite expensive and still looked in good shape the first time I saw it. But with time, it began to deteriorate. One of the windows got broken, the tyres deflated and wore out completely, and rust slowly crept over what was once a beautiful machine.
Curious, I asked the mechanic why such an expensive vehicle had been left to rot.
He confirmed that the car had indeed been in perfect condition when I first saw it. But even he had become helpless as to what to do. The vehicle belonged to someone from the Republic of Tchad. The man’s driver had been the one bringing it into Nigeria for repairs. On that last occasion, the driver dropped it off, paid for the repairs, and returned to Tchad, saying he would come back to collect the car once the required part being sourced from Lagos was fixed.
The mechanic bought the part, fixed the car, and waited. He had already been paid. But the driver never came back. It turned out he had been on his way to pick up the car when he was attacked by insurgents and killed. The mechanic didn’t know much about him, only his name, and had no idea where exactly in Tchad he was from. So the car remained there, abandoned. The owner likely has no idea where it is or how to recover it.
At a certain car wash, there was another case. Another expensive vehicle. This one had been brought in by a customer who patronised them occasionally. They didn’t know much about him either. He lived in another city but always came for business, and each time, he brought the car to be washed.
On his last visit, he dropped it off as usual and said he was going into town and would return later that evening. He never did. That was three years ago. Still, no sign of him. The car wash owner continues to wash and maintain the vehicle daily, keeping it spotless. But no one has come for it. They didn’t even know his name, and a search of the vehicle turned up no documents that could trace it to anyone. So, it remains abandoned.
Just last week, a friend of mine died after a brief illness. Before falling sick, he had taken some clothes to the laundry. He never returned to collect them. Thankfully, the laundryman knew his family and brought the clothes to his wife last night. She had no idea he had even taken anything to be laundered.
These situations made me think deeply.
Do our families and friends know the people we deal with, our mechanics, our laundrymen, or the businesses we patronise? Do we tell them about the errands we run or the transactions we make? Or do we go about our lives with no one aware of the little details that might matter in the end?
Shouldn’t someone at least know?
One day, you will take your car to the mechanic but you will not be the one to bring it back.
Your clothes will be at the laundry but you will not return to pick them up.
Do you have some pieces or parcels of land? Does your family know about them?
Do you have house or houses any where? Does your family know about it or them?
How many banks do you
have accounts in?
Does your family know about all of them?
Sometimes, the things you worked hard for, the things you loved and valued, will be left lying somewhere, useless and out of reach, because no one knew where you kept them or how to find them. That should be enough to give one the creeps and make one think deeply. Today, tomorrow, it shall come for you.
One day......
Copied
At a mechanic’s workshop, I noticed a particular car that had been parked there for nearly four years. It was quite expensive and still looked in good shape the first time I saw it. But with time, it began to deteriorate. One of the windows got broken, the tyres deflated and wore out completely, and rust slowly crept over what was once a beautiful machine.
Curious, I asked the mechanic why such an expensive vehicle had been left to rot.
He confirmed that the car had indeed been in perfect condition when I first saw it. But even he had become helpless as to what to do. The vehicle belonged to someone from the Republic of Tchad. The man’s driver had been the one bringing it into Nigeria for repairs. On that last occasion, the driver dropped it off, paid for the repairs, and returned to Tchad, saying he would come back to collect the car once the required part being sourced from Lagos was fixed.
The mechanic bought the part, fixed the car, and waited. He had already been paid. But the driver never came back. It turned out he had been on his way to pick up the car when he was attacked by insurgents and killed. The mechanic didn’t know much about him, only his name, and had no idea where exactly in Tchad he was from. So the car remained there, abandoned. The owner likely has no idea where it is or how to recover it.
At a certain car wash, there was another case. Another expensive vehicle. This one had been brought in by a customer who patronised them occasionally. They didn’t know much about him either. He lived in another city but always came for business, and each time, he brought the car to be washed.
On his last visit, he dropped it off as usual and said he was going into town and would return later that evening. He never did. That was three years ago. Still, no sign of him. The car wash owner continues to wash and maintain the vehicle daily, keeping it spotless. But no one has come for it. They didn’t even know his name, and a search of the vehicle turned up no documents that could trace it to anyone. So, it remains abandoned.
Just last week, a friend of mine died after a brief illness. Before falling sick, he had taken some clothes to the laundry. He never returned to collect them. Thankfully, the laundryman knew his family and brought the clothes to his wife last night. She had no idea he had even taken anything to be laundered.
These situations made me think deeply.
Do our families and friends know the people we deal with, our mechanics, our laundrymen, or the businesses we patronise? Do we tell them about the errands we run or the transactions we make? Or do we go about our lives with no one aware of the little details that might matter in the end?
Shouldn’t someone at least know?
One day, you will take your car to the mechanic but you will not be the one to bring it back.
Your clothes will be at the laundry but you will not return to pick them up.
Do you have some pieces or parcels of land? Does your family know about them?
Do you have house or houses any where? Does your family know about it or them?
How many banks do you
have accounts in?
Does your family know about all of them?
Sometimes, the things you worked hard for, the things you loved and valued, will be left lying somewhere, useless and out of reach, because no one knew where you kept them or how to find them. That should be enough to give one the creeps and make one think deeply. Today, tomorrow, it shall come for you.
One day......
Copied
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