2026: A Year When Centuries Happen

First of all, Happy New Year!

Yeah, I had to get that out of the way because unlike my job-related writings, I hardly do blog writings with a clear framework in mind. I just start typing and see where the turns lead by the end of the article. This freestyle allows my brain to take a chill pill from the gazillions of writings I do in formal environments where I have to worry about communicating properly to get a predetermined outcome from whoever is the recipient.

So, again, Happy New Year!

2026 is already shaping up to be another landmark year for future historians. Just like 2020 that began with back-to-back hits and segued into COVID-19, a black swan of the modern era, 2026 is already showing signs that it does not intend to go down as just another year. If for nothing, we have already had a sitting president (legitimate or not) kidnapped in broad nightlight, reminding Nigerians of when a sitting state governor was kidnapped by the police, howbeit without any pending indictment. Suddenly, ideas that ab initio seemed cast in stone like the concept of “international law” or “rules-based order” are starting to look like mirages, anchors created by humans to make sense of cross-cultural interactions, just like the calendars we created to make sense of a seemingly unending intergalactic motion.

Coming back to Nigeria, 2026 is just the first half of 2027 because as we have seen in the past, the year is likely going to be consumed in political chess moves and intrigues, with the political class effectively abandoning governance in readiness for the 2027 elections. We will almost definitely continue the superior tradition of arguing over whose thief is a bigger thief or which tribe or religion is responsible for depressing underdevelopment, while the overlords plot to perpetuate their hands in the public treasury. However, while governance may take a hit from politics, we can rest assured that taxation would not—because the tax lords having entered their avatar state are certain to bend laws, whether unsullied or tampered with, to achieve increased revenues sans accountability.

Still on Nigeria, we must not forget the longsuffering peoples of Agatu, Bama, Fadan Karshi, Dankade, and many others who would be wondering whether American rhetoric and guided missiles can finally get them some reprieve from an unending nightmare of destruction and bloodletting. While those of us who are not from those areas and have not lost anyone to the unpardonable violence would argue about the merits of “sovereign interference”, the people on the ground would be pensive whether their pleas for help would finally yield fruits and enable them to return to their ancestral lands and lives.

With everything happening, it is easy to get disillusioned and wonder about the essence of life itself. In the midst of all the chaos, why should anyone be bothered about even being alive when we just seem to be born to die. Or some would wonder what basis anyone has to even think that things would get better because at a fundamental level, the laws of entropy support uncertainty breeding more uncertainty. So, while many would want to resign themselves to thinking life is an irrecoverable mess, I think about Jesus’ question whether by worrying I can add an hour to my life. Is there anything I can do personally that can change how my uncles in the White House or Aso Villa behave, or change the trajectory of the world?

So, rather than worry, I will do like the singers assert and “put my faith in Jesus; my anchor to the ground”. I cannot determine whether the economy tanks or rises, but I can decide to always have joy and peace. I cannot force people to be competent, but I can decide to strive for excellence in everything that I do. I cannot force humans to be humane, but I can decide to treat everyone around me with respect. I do this because I know it is right and because I know that it is the little acts by you and I that change perceptions and make the world a better place. And we end by drawing up the wisdom of the Serenity Prayer.

Do have a pleasant 2026!

PS. Have you listened to my wife’s new single? Thank You Lord by Anu-oluwapo awaits you across streaming platforms. Spread the word!

Image Credit: Microsoft’s Copilot (AI generated)