Happy New Year…! It’s 2026, and I am not about to get into some numerology conspiracies about the significance of this year. However, I know for a fact that no new plans will be made for this year, in this year. All desired outcomes for ’26 were set in the last quarter of ’25. So, 2026 is the year of action.
So, I have been on a holiday against my will. The Mrs co-opted me into going on a trip across the Atlantic. I don’t even know when, why or how I agreed. I just found myself at JFK, wondering what my role in this holiday is. Ko jor afoshe, ko jor edi, I found myself dragging bags to a waiting vehicle outside the airport, in a negative 3 degrees weather. We all slept all through the journey from New York to The Oranges in New Jersey.
Since I was co-opted into this trip, I wasn’t too down for some of the fun that were pre-arranged. I had to create my own. Two days after our arrival, I was on the plane to Dallas to see my cousins and chill with my long found friends.
I hadnt seen my uncle and cousins in almost 30 years, and the same morning I arrived at Tunde’s home, I freshened up and made my way to my uncle and his wife, who were visiting their eldest child, about 45 minutes away from where I was. It was a wholesome experience chatting and reminiscing about life and the last time we met in Nigeria. I returned to base to chill with Tunde.
Eloka and Tunde (my host) were my mates in FGC Ijanikin and hadn’t seen them in over 25 years. You can imagine the fun we had going down memory lane. It is normal to think that practically all we talked and laughed about was life at school. However, 90 percent of our talks focused on business and wealth building together. You see, Eloka, asides being the CEO of Sawport, is poised to be one of the biggest real estate managers in Rwanda in a few years. Tunde on the other hand, a lawyer, turned IT systems auditor is also killing it. We talked, we laughed, but more importantly, we were happy to be alive.
Eloka informed us that another of our high school mate was hosting a game night, and other mates were going to be there. It was almost an hour drive away, but then, I learnt fast that an hour drive in Texas for fun/shopping etc is perfectly normal. We arrived and Eloka and his madam were already there. Tunde and I made our way in and boy….it was nice to see old faces. Razzy, Tunde Ogunjobi, Igenegbai, Toheeb Oridedi and of course, the games night host, Femi Ajisafe. The interaction was wholesome. Like there was not a 25 year gap n our meeting. It was free and real. Again, catching up with the boys was less about life in school and more about businesses and wealth building.
The games were amazing. Grown men and women grinning from ear to ear like smileys, rolling under tables to find game pieces, dancing, singing and hopping left to right like horses experiencing a good hay day. One game stood out for me though. Its the popular Taboo game but with a twist. Instead of acting out the word/phrase, Femi made us write it and then show our team mate, who in turn will use our written clues to find the word or phrase. ChatGPT just told me its a variation of another game called Telestrations.
One of the word we were given to describe to our team mate was Chuffnuts. I had never heard it before and I remember turning to Igenegbai. He hadn’t heard it too. Practically everyone on our team hadn’t heard it. I asked my uncle and he sent back the image below. Sorry, I meant uncle ChatGPT.
We learn everyday and I have added it to my vocabulary to rot, because I will never use it. Chin-chin is chin-chin. Puff-puff is puff puff. And if this word means something else to you, be rest assured you need God Almighty in this 2026 ooo 😀
Nothing beats a Jet 2 holiday….Lies. My trip to Texas did and I look forward to returning. Before I stop writing, I won’t tell you that I missed my return flight to Newark and had to spend an extra day with Tunde. I loved it daku. I also won’t tell you I was at Times Square with the family for the new years countdown…
2026 will work for us all. Salam alykun.