For Wukeh; The Gift that Keeps Giving

“Ugee, my time is yours, use it. Use me.”

I received that blank cheque some time back and every single time I have had to cash in on it, it has never bounced. Such is the beautiful and rare gift of friendship I have with this amazing human. Wukeh, the gift that keeps giving. This kind, warm, spirited, supernaturally intelligent, effervescent human being. Although I am often tempted to doubt his humanity sometimes, then he pushes himself too hard and his body chooses to remind him that it is just flesh.

I have been good friends with Wukeh for about 4 years and in all that time he has only shown me love, loyalty and solid support. What I find most intriguing is the fact that I am not the only recipient of the magnanimity of his heart. It is not even a question of where 2 or 3 are gathered either. I am almost certain that Wukeh has over a thousand personal connections wherein he gives 110% of himself and I will never know or comprehend how he is able to do that. But those who know, know.

I can’t even begin to recount the number of times Wukeh has come through, especially when it mattered most. All the words of wisdom, the reassuring conversations in my moments of doubt and despair. The uninhibited humour in his words and manner that crack me up for days or leave me grinning from ear to ear hours after a phone conversation. There are so many stories to share. But one that immediately comes to mind as I write this is when I received feedback on my first assessed essay a few months ago. I picked up the paper with the D3 written boldly and I walked dejectedly to my flat thinking of how I had failed myself and the entire world. I sent one message to him and his first response was “Congratulations, ‘D’ stands for determination.” I didn’t even know when I started laughing. Then he called and encouraged me for about an hour, reaffirming faith and emphasizing the most important thing about education being learning and not necessarily cramming and passing. Of course when I made an A in my last essay, you can imagine who one of the first people I contacted was.

Or do I speak of the period I was crumbling under deadlines and battling inefficiency, one message to Wukeh and he recommended I read Essentialism. (You should read that book too. It will change your life.) I did as he said and my productivity multiplied. Or do I speak of how we became accountability partners and knowing that I was accountable to someone made me so much more responsible with all my tasks and weekly goals.

I have learned so much and shared so much with Wukeh, it is all too incredible for words. Always, he offers a new and refreshing perspective, a fresh idea, an alternative approach and a generally more efficient way to live life and get things done.

And it hasn’t always been about work. We have had the most fun together, turning up across different cities. I recall the one time he paid me a surprise visit in the ‘Deen and I was beside myself with excitement. Wukeh is a burst of sunlight on a cloudy day, a breath of fresh air in a dreary space and a sliver of hope in the most despondent of situations.

I tell myself that Ephesians 2:10 is my personal anchor scripture, the foundation upon which I do all that I do when it comes to human relations but Wukeh is totally Ephesians 2:10 goals. He lives that scripture like it was written with him in mind and I am absolutely inspired by it.

Wukeh is that one person that will tell me to jump and I will take the first leap before asking how high. For him I would go above and beyond, over a cliff even, he has earned it. And because there is precious little I can give in return to this superhuman, I have resolved in my heart to continually replicate the kindness and love I have received from him towards other people.

Today is Wukeh appreciation day. So thank you Wukeh, for your kindness, for your wit and charm, for your wealth of wisdom which you so graciously dispense, for your humility, for your drive, for your dreams, for your spirit,  and above all for your essence. I earnestly pray that you never lose these. You my dear friend are everything. You are truly legendary.

I am wealthy in relationships and you, Wukeh are unarguably the largest share in that wealth. Dearest, I love you, fiercely, and I am eternally grateful for the gift of you that keeps on giving. Always for you, above, beyond and over a cliff.

Happy birthday my darling.