Metro
Food for Living: Are You Prepared?
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Friends,
Life is full of many challenges and opportunities. At every stage in life, we are always called upon to act or perform a particular task. The questions you may want to ask yourself as regards the challenge before are; am I prepared for the opportunity; and am I ready to hit the ground running. A few years ago, I wrote an article entitled Youths and Nation Building – A Case Study of Nigeria, wherein I was able to share some insightful points on how the youths can contribute to Nation-Building. What really inspired that article was the allegation a colleague made on Facebook that the youths of Nigeria are not prepared to serve in certain committees and positions of authority. According to him, even if they are given the opportunity, they lack the necessary skills and qualifications to serve or contribute to Nation Building.
In the course of this article, we shall be discussing how preparation can be a catalyst to one’s success. Preparation in life cuts across every barrier namely: academic, business, marriage, economy and leadership. In whatever you do in life, you definitely have to plan if you truly want to succeed. According to Benjamin Franklin, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. Just like we say in some social parlance, organization is the first law in heaven, in the same vein, preparation is the first key to any opportunity. Nor matter how good, skillful or knowledgable you are in life in any particular industry, if you are not prepared for the task ahead, you are definitely going to hit the rock. For instance, Anthony Joshua lost his first-ever boxing battle to Andy Ruiz jr. in one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport. According to some people who watched the fight, Anthony Joshua lost because he wasn’t fully prepared for the fight.
When people say they need an opportunity to work or serve in a particular capacity, what really comes to my mind is, are they really prepared if the opportunity becomes available? What they don’t really know is that opportunity never comes, it is created it by hard-work and smartness. Working hard is different from working smart. When you work hard, you exert so much energy to get the word out there, but when you work smart, you use logistics to plan very well. It’s funny to know that most people want to achieve success, but at the same time, they don’t want to do the work. In the voice of one of the most celebrated Nigerian artist in the world, Innocent Idibia, aka Tuface, he said, “some people want to go heaven, but they don’t want to go to die”. What this really means is that most people want to succeed, but they are not willing to do the work by preparing.
The question now is how do you do the work? You do the work by planning your life, your study, your business, your family and life generally. You also prepare by volunteering, serving, reading, learning the trade, getting theoretical and practical guidelines and empowering yourself with all necessary skills to succeed in the particular area of interest you are passionate about. For example, if you are a man who wants to marry, it’s strongly advisable to do the courting in order to know your intending spouse to a reasonable extent. Then you secure a stable source of income to cater for the family as the Head of the house when you finally decide to settle down.
It’s pertinent to note that the journey of a thousand steps begins with a step in the right direction. If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, engineer, politician or even artisan, you have to learn the trade in order to succeed in the industry. Failing to do the needful might make you to crash when the opportunity becomes available. In order to achieve success, you must pay your dues. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. There’s nothing like luck in life. Most of the opportunities that have come across me didn’t really come as a result of my hard work, most of them came because I created them by preparing myself.
In conclusion, it’s pertinent for you to sit down and evaluate where you are and where you want to be in life in a year’s time, five years and ten years time. Then ask yourself, am I doing what I am supposed to do? If no, ask yourself again, what am I supposed to do to get myself prepared for the task ahead.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success.
Abuja, the nation’s federal capital, came alive with joy and excitement on Wednesday as a new set of winners in the ongoing Globacom Festival of Joy promotion received mouth-watering prizes they won at a special presentation ceremony held at the premises of Globacom at Aminu Kano Crescent.
A glittering brand new Toyota Prado, a brand new Kia Picanto, tricycles (Keke Napep) and scores of other prizes including power generating sets, sewing machines and grinding machines were handed over to joyful winners.
Sarah Ilya Madu was presented the keys to her brand-new Toyota Prado by Senator Simon Lalong, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth Development, supported by a stellar cast of celebrities and influencers.
Sarah, a federal civil servant from Borno State, who emerged winner of the Toyota Prado in the draw of the promotion held in Abuja last Friday, expressed shock when she was called up. She dropped the call from Globacom several times because the news was too good to be believed.
She said, “I was prevailed upon by my colleagues to do a video call with the Glo staff who called me. Even when I saw the office environment, I was still doubtful.” She added that when she eventually agreed to visit the Glo office, she went with a hefty colleague just in case she was being set up.
Ufot Victor, a 43-year-old businessman based in the FCT, was expectant about winning as he had been recharging regularly so as to cross the minimum requirement for a car. Winning a brand new Kia Picanto was a huge reward for his dedication.
Other lucky winners also went home with tricycles (Keke), power generating sets, sewing machines and grinding machines. Ireimiya Mallo, a SIM registration agent and native of Nasarawa State, who won Keke, said, ”I was so joyful on learning I had won a Keke”. He disclosed that he would be deploying it for commercial purpose”, while the winner of a power generating set, Felix Gabriel, thanked Globacom for always remembering Nigerians every year in its annual promos.
The Special Guest, Senator Simon Lalong, praised the Chairman of Globacom for putting the promo in place for Nigerians and also extolled his strong support for sports. He said he would love to be a winner in the Glo promo one day soon. Also Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the spokesman of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth Development, said Globacom has always been a brand after his heart, adding that the network is not just attracting customers but also giving out to show that it means well not only for the customers but also for Nigerians.
In his remarks at the event, Globacom’s Head of Division, North West, Mr. Kazeem Kaka, said that to participate in the Festival of Joy promo, new and existing subscribers should dial *611# so as to opt into the promo and to keep recharging thereafter to meet the threshold for the various prizes. He added that new subscribers can participate immediately by purchasing a new SIM, registering it and dialing *611#.
Guests at the event included representatives of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Mariam Imam, Assistant Director, Consumer Affairs at the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Moses Iyi; comedians, Tee A, Seyi Law, and Gordons.
Others were Nollywood duo of Ebube Nwagbo and Juliet Ibrahim as well as popular content creator, Kiekie.
U.S immigration and border officials will be able to arrest migrants at so-called “sensitive” locations again, after the Trump administration overturned policies limiting where such arrests could happen.
Officers will now be able to make arrests at designated “sensitive” areas, including houses of worship, schools, and hospitals.
Officials have been prohibited from doing this since 2011.
Later, the Biden administration expanded the regulation, further restricting the authority’s powers.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
A second directive reinstates the ability for the U.S. to quickly deport any undocumented person arrested who is unable to prove they have been in the country for more than two years.
A 23-year-old Turkish OnlyFans model, Azranur AV aka Ezra Vandan, has been arrested by Istanbul police after announcing her plan to engage in sexual activity with 100 men within 24 hours.
Vandan’s social media post, in which she declared her intention to live-stream the act in an attempt to set a national record, was deemed “obscene” and “damaging” to public morals by authorities.
“My goal is to break a Turkish record first, then a world record!” she wrote in the now-viral post.
Her arrest was carried out by the Morality Bureau of the Istanbul Security Branch Directorate at a cosmetic surgery clinic in Atasehir, Istanbul.
