Missed Opportunity.

Bae do you know what it means to miss the boat? I had asked my cousin Abigail the other day.

She looked at me, a little curious, hmm of course, It is when you waste time and lose an opportunity, why are you asking?

I gave a small laugh, Because that was me o my sister, like I literally missed the boat on getting my international passport done few months ago , and it still hurts me till now.

You see, there was a time when I had the perfect chance, someone was even ready to pay the passport fee for me, all I had to do was get my NIN ready and then proceed with the application, but guess what? My NIN had issues the name on it doesn't tally with my other documents and so, I got stuck.

I remember walking into the NIN office that morning, tired but hopeful,
Good morning, madam, the officer at the desk said without looking up.

Good morning, please I have a problem with the name on my NIN. I need it corrected urgently so I can apply for my passport, I explained.

He finally looked at me, shook his head slowly, and said, Ah, madam, this one will take time o , like maybe two, three months.

Three months ke ? I repeated, almost shouting. But I need this quickly, I heard it can be done in like two weeks na?....

He shrugged like it wasn’t his problem, There is nothing we can do, You will just have to wait for the update.

I left the office feeling so frustrated, it was like the world had conspired against me,
every time the person who promised to pay the fee asked, have you done your passport now? I would mumble something about still waiting for my NIN to be fixed.

One day he sighed and told me, See, I amm ready to help you, but you have to be serious, opportunities don’t wait forever.”

I know, I replied, see It is not like I don’t want to na ..... the system is just making it hard for me

Sadly, time passed and before I knew it, the chance slipped away, the NIN issue took longer than expected and by the time I finally thought I was ready to apply, I heard the heartbreaking news, passport fees had been increased.

I literally sat on my bed that evening, phone in hand, staring at the message. So I missed the boat just like that? I asked myself.

My sister, who was in the room, looked up from her phone, What boat are you talking about? she teased.

I rolled my eyes, not a real boat jare, I am talking about my passport, i had a chance, and now the fee is higher I will have to push it till later.

She laughed softly, well, at least you have learnt, Next time, don’t wait too long.”

And yeah she was right, Missing that chance taught me something opportunities really don’t wait forever, sometimes you just have to grab them when they come, because once the boat sails, you will just be left standing at the shore, wishing that you had gotten on it earlier.

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