Gunmen have reduced the ransom demanded for the release of the 20 kidnapped prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from N50million to N5million each, bringing the total amount to N100million.

The kidnappers, last Friday, set a 24-hour deadline for the payment of the N50million ransom. The ultimatum expired on Sunday.

One of the affected parents, Alimot Akande, reportedly confirmed that the amount has been reviewed to N5million each.

She stated that the kidnappers established contact with the respective parents of the captives with their mobile telephone lines.

The distraught mother lamented that the victims are being subjected to rigorous torture as they are being asked to impress upon their parents that failure to meet up with their fresh demand may result in something else.

“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each.”

“The total amount that is being expected to be paid by the affected parents has reduced from one billion naira to one hundred million naira.

Akande, however, said she could not confirm how much had been raised by the families to pay the ransom, explaining that she is not privy to the individual arrangements between the kidnappers and the other parents.

“I cannot say because I do not know how much they have told those people that they have.”

When asked to describe the situation from her perspective, Akande said: “It has been horrible, scary and overwhelming.”

The situation, according to her, became more disturbing after she spoke with her sister and learnt that the abductors had begun beating the victims.

“Sir, we appeal to the government to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.

Asked whether the female corps members were also being assaulted, she said the kidnappers had shown no restraint.

“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.

She also disclosed that one of the abducted corps members had been allowed to communicate with his father, but the calls were allegedly being used by the kidnappers as an avenue to monitor the family’s ability to raise money.

According to her, the abductors would alert the victim whenever his father’s call came in and allow him to speak because they believed the father could provide the ransom.

She said, “His father has been communicating with him. The kidnappers give him access to a telephone. Whenever his father calls, they show him that a call came in for you. He would just say, ‘Oh, that’s my father.’

“They know money will come out of father’s hands, so they would just pick it and allow him to talk. And they have been beating him. They have been beating all of them.”

The parent also disclosed that the families have been relying on assurances from the police while efforts continued to secure the money demanded by the abductors.

“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending on it, they will see them rescued,” she said.

Asked whether she was also directly affected by the incident, Akande replied: “I am. My sister was abducted.”

She identified her sister as Kehinde Akande and said she is 25 years old.

The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, on Sunday described President Bola Tinubu as an incompetent leader, stressing that Nigeria has yet to experience what it means to be an independent nation because of bad leadership.

In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele claimed Nigeria has independence of hardship and hunger, explaining that the government complains more than provides solutions to the nation’s problems.

Primate Ayodele wrote: “We are not fully independent. It’s an independence of stagnancy and hunger. Tinubu isn’t competent to be a president, so there is no way the people will enjoy independence.

“Our government complains a lot when they are supposed to provide solutions. This independence is meant for rethinking, but the president isn’t ready for it.”

The prophet stated that there is no freedom in whatever is happening in Nigeria, noting that a Muslim-Muslim ticket doesn’t indicate freedom but bondage.

​He warned that the only way Nigeria can have true independence is by restructuring. He, however, noted that the Nigerian government is not ready for that conversation.

“There is no freedom in whatever we are doing; a Muslim-Muslim ticket is no independence, it is bondage. The only way we can have independence is through restructuring, but the government isn’t ready for that. In terms of infrastructure, health, economy, and other indices, it’s simply bondage,” he said.

Continuing, Primate Ayodele described the Nigerian government as selfish, saying that is the reason citizens have yet to experience what it feels like to be independent.

He further blasted the government for not having plans for the younger generation. “The government is selfish and careless; it is not a government that is arranged or organised, and that is why we are still in the process of independence; we have not fully attained it.

“There is no amount of prayers that can help us if we have bad leadership; our independence has been commercialised and sabotaged. This is a country with no plans for the younger generation.”

By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

In the last two editions, we discussed passion and profit, and identified the relativity of the two. Today, however, the sensitive issue of love will be our target.

As powerful as love is, it can also be controversial. This is because there are many angles to it. Some people believe in love in contrast to the views of some others, however. While some think love is blind, others are of the opinion that love might not be blind afterall. The latter school of thought believes that one must love with common sense as opposed to being foolishly in love.

But while love is often described as a verb because it’s action-oriented functions, one cannot say they love someone or something without investing time and resources in them. As a matter of fact, a school of thought says that if you want to know a person, look at how the person spends their time.

Regardless of the aisle one belongs to, I strongly believe that true love exists. The only challenge most people have is that they love the wrong people, and they haven’t found people who truly love them for who they are. Today, I pray that what we love, loves us back.

I also believe that no one is too busy to do the needful. If anyone wants to check on you or be with you, they will make an intentional effort to reach out. I say this because no one is too busy to pick your call or even reply your message. If you reach out to anyone, and they are not available to pick up your call, they will surely make out time to revert to you, if for any reason, you are relevant to them.

To understand this message, imagine US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or even an idol whom you rever calling you; would you give them an excuse for not picking or returning their call? If my thinking is right, one will make a conscious effort to return the call at the earliest possible time.

One may wonder why I took time to explain love in this context; well, the answer is not far-fetched: love is the centerpiece of everything we do in life. If you love your job, your business, your academics, your relationship, your God, and your life, you’ll be intentional in harnessing it. You won’t want to lose it. According to Myles Munroe, whatsoever you mismanage, you’ll lose it. So, love is not an exception.

As mentioned earlier, when you love something, you’ll invest time and resources into it. To understand the concept of let love lead, we shall be discussing love as it relates to career, business, academics, relationships, God, and personal life.

Love and Career:

To understand one’s interests, look at what they spend their time on. It’s sad to see people who work in roles they are not passionate about just because they want to pay their bills. When you love your career, trust me, you won’t feel like you are working. As a matter of fact, one will not feel the stress of waking up every day to go to work. One can tell who loves their job by the way they do their work.

Love and Business

This is another interesting area of life. Most people engage in business that pays the bills; however, I believe if one has discovered who they are, they can make a living by focusing on their God-given talent to develop a business. For instance, I’m passionate about counselling, youth development, mentoring, and public speaking. Instead of working in roles in big industries that can pay me big money, I started my company, Global Empowerment and Mentoring Initiative, which is focused on Human Capacity Development to enable me to fulfil my heart desire and passion. I believe anyone passionate about something can creatively find a way to turn it into a business, and people will be paid for it.

Love and Academic

Another interesting area where we can allow love to lead is our academics. Just like love starts in the family, fulfillment in a career starts from the major one studies in college. This is simply because when we choose a major we love, it will lead us to an industry that’s befitting for our major. One of the reasons why a lot of people feel stressed, frustrated, depressed, and have suicidal thoughts is simply because they don’t like their major and where they work.

Trust me, if one loves their major and their work, they won’t think of taking their life. We have seen cases where they have money but are not happy with their job.

Love and Relationship

This is one of the most interesting areas of life to know if one truly loves. In our contemporary society, it’s almost impossible to find genuine love. However, it’s still possible for one to find true love, but it will be very rare. Most people will love you for what they will gain from you. Love ought to be symbiotic as opposed to being parasitic. When there’s love between two people, many of the fights that exist in relationships won’t exist.

For instance, one of the most debatable and controversial issues in marriage is the 50- 50 contributions. Some men support the idea of 50-50 because they also contribute to cooking, taking care of children, and other household chores which traditionally belong to women. Women, on the other hand, differ.

According to them, it’s the duty of the man to provide for the family. According to them, it makes no sense for them to contribute and also give men the respect they deserve. This set of women goes as far as saying that bathing a child and doing household chores are all part of being a responsible man. The narrative seems to be changing.

Here is my position. Where there’s love and understanding in a relationship or marriage, who provides and who manages won’t really bother. A man who loves his family (wife and children) won’t see cooking, bathing his children, and still gives his wife money as work. And a woman who truly loves her husband won’t see paying the bills as work when the man is incapacitated; neither will it make her disrespect her husband because he’s not financially stable to support the family, because they are committed to the relationship.

I can go on and on about love, but the fact and truth remains: when true love is at the center of the marriage or relationship, partners won’t even discuss if it is his money or her money, because both parties are one.

Love and God

This is another interesting area to know the mindset of someone. As Christians, we are advised to love God as we love ourselves. We can’t claim to love God and do things that are contrary to what God loves. In the same way, we can’t claim to love someone and hurt them. When we love, people can see it without us speaking. A typical example is the parable of the good Samaritan.

Love and Life:

Life is love and love is life. The summary of our life can be seen in how we live our life. Whether we are talking about education, career, business, health, personal development, family, relationship/marriage, entertainment, vocation, skill, finance, spiritual, etc. Love can be understood through how we live and love because everything rises and falls in life.

In summary, I know there are many twists to life; I suggest that, in whatever we do, let’s allow love to lead.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer, and author of Design Your Destiny: Actualizing Your Birthright to Success, Unleash Your Destiny, and The Six Pillars of Success. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com