News
Food for Living: Begin That Journey Now
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
The journey of a thousand miles, they say, begins with a step. A in the right direction! However, one of the greatest challenges we have as human beings is the courage to take that first step. It is sad to note that due to procrastination and fear of the unknown, many are deterred from taking that all important first step. The sad reality of life is that if you don’t take the leap that will lead you to your dream or passion due to fear of how long it will take to get to your destination, one day, you will regret not taking the step.
I have since come to the sublime realization that there is never a perfect time to do anything worth doing. If you have the desire of being a President, Governor, Professor, etc., you need to start preparing now as opposed to waiting for when the coast is clear. Just like a soccer player will have to practice for several years to become a star, an artist will have to hone the skill of singing to become a star, and an author will have to learn the art of writing to become a bestseller, so it is with everyone interested in doing anything.
The message here is very simple; whatever you want to do in life, you must give it your time. Nothing happens by accident, there’s always a cause and effect. If you don’t put in the work, you won’t get any result. Let’s take a case study of someone who wants to build their body, they must have to go to the gym for daily exercise. No one engages in body building without exercising. That’s simply how life works.
When you develop yourself, your work has a way of speaking for you, especially in this era when we literally live on the internet. You can share your work on several social media platforms and the universe will begin to see your work, and invariably begin to look for you. But if you don’t share your work, how will they know about you? As the saying goes, the internet never forgets, when you share your work, rational minds will always reference you as one who has been very productive and passionate about his cause. The interesting part of using the internet to promote your work is that the universe has a way of conspiring with humanity to work with you. Like I always say, we live in a connection economy, so why stay local when you can be global.
Furthermore, when you decide to begin your journey, irrespective of any field you settle for, you can always transfer your skills to another industry when you have distinguished yourself in one industry. For instance, if you are interested in politics, someone can say, you don’t have experience in politics, you can make a case stating you are accomplished banker, economics, manager, coach, doctor, lawyer accountant, teacher or any field you have distinguished yourself in, and use it as a leverage other skills and knowledge. For the likes of Chief Dele Momodu, leadership is about managing people and resources. When you can show you have been able to manage people and resources, even in a small capacity, you can lead anytime and anywhere.
In conclusion, in whatever you want to do, begin your journey today by taking the simplest of steps that is capable of taking you to the next step.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer. 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 and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The South East Senate Caucus has expressed worry over what it described as a ‘curious and highly suspicious’ JAMB examination glitch at some centres in Lagos and especially in the whole of Southeast in the last exam circle.
They blamed it on “injecting hateful politics and narrow parochial considerations in both policy enunciation and its implementations”.
In a statement on Saturday in Abuja by its Chairman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South), the caucus said it would be disheartening and hopes not to contemplate such conspiracy theory “that there is a narrow agenda being pursued to deliberately shortchange and harm the future of our children”.
Though the caucus, after a careful assessment of the reports of the ugly incident, noted with cautious optimism the efforts being made to mitigate the near disaster, particularly the rescheduling of the examination, it, however, warns that a future reoccurrence will be unacceptable.
Nonetheless, Southeast senators, he added, welcomed the timely acceptance of fault as expressed through the open declaration of regrets and tearful apology by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) management, particularly its registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede.
According to Senator Abaribe, the Southeast lawmakers hope and warn that such a display of penitence in public would not be an effort to mask a future sinister agenda aimed at harming the educational advancement of children of the southeast region.
Abaribe said: “The so-called glitch, as curious and suspicious as it was, is enough to erode confidence and dangerously lower national pride among the future generation.
“The relevant national education drivers must recognise the inherent danger of injecting hateful politics and narrow parochial considerations in both policy enunciation and its implementations.
“That the glitch happened in the whole of South East raises pertinent questions that must be answered by JAMB to assuage the growing frustrations and fears among the people of the region, particularly the children who are directly at the receiving end. We must pursue a Nigerian agenda and not a narrow one that will ultimately injure national unity.
“Education remains one of the most important bedrocks of any society’s advancement. It is one major index of development in every facet of life that can never be faulted. Education is a major pivot that triggers national development. Every child is entitled to it; therefore, we must not play roulette with it.
He said that the South East Senate Caucus is alert and under pressure as it unequivocally demands firm assurance from JAMB and other relevant national educational policy drivers that there will never be a recurrence of such a scandalous glitch in the future.
The remarkable and highly transformational leadership qualities of the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed, has once again been rewarded following the conferment of a prestigious Diamond Merit Award on him, by the Institute of Chattered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Lagos, the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) can report.
The recognition and honour which falls under the Member Accountant Category, was bestowed upon the Corps Marshal at the ICAN Annual Dinner and Merit Award Ceremony held on Saturday at the Monarch Event Centre in Lekki, Lagos.
According to the President of the noble Institute, Mr. Davidson Stephen Alaribe, the Member Accountant Category award is reserved for distinguished professionals Accountants who have made outstanding contributions in their fields while demonstrating strong support for the accounting profession. Corps Marshal was lauded for his transformational leadership qualities, transparency and accountability in the management of the affairs of leadership in the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Elated by the recognition, the Corps Marshal stated that the honour is a call for more dedication, commitment, greater transparency and accountability in FRSC. He expressed his deepest gratitude to ICAN for its prudence and objectivity in identifying true high flyers for this remarkable recognition.
The event brought together industry leaders, policy makers, and professionals from across the country who came along to celebrate the Institute’s integrity and professionalism as the leading Accountancy body in Nigeria.
News
Court Hands EFCC Three Days Ultimatum to Conclude 10-Year-Old Corruption Charges Against Dasuki
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted three consecutive days to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conclude the ten-year-old corruption charges it instituted against a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Dasuki’s counsel initiated legal arguments when he challenged the status of the subpoena because it was issued to the DSS as an entity not recognised by the law of the country.
The EFCC lawyer, however, countered the objection, insisting that DSS was a creation of statute and that there had been no confusion in the identity of the organisation.
“The document was duly served on Department of State Security (DSS). The Department has no confusion as to its identity.
“The witness did not exhibit any confusion as to his invitation by the Court. The objection as to form does not defeat the end of Justice. We humbly pray the Court not to sustain the objection in the interest of substantial justice.”
In the end, Justice Lifu admitted the subpoena as an exhibit and reserved his ruling to be delivered along with the main charge.
“I have carefully and painstakingly listened to learned counsel on the admissibility of the document sought to be tendered by the prosecution.
“I have also perused the document in relation to the name on the said subpoena. Admissibility of documentary evidence is governed by the law of evidence, and it is determined by relevancy.
“Being a criminal case which is about 10 years old in the docket of this court, coupled with the fact that ACJA 2015 envisages speedy dispensation of criminal justice, this document shall be admitted and a ruling shall be incorporated into the final judgement of this court,” said Justice Lifu.
The judge drew the attention of the parties to the fact that the case had dragged and suffered delay for ten years, having been filed in 2015.
At the proceedings, the first prosecution witness and exhibit keeper with the DSS, Monsur Mohammed, was permitted to give evidence on the strength of the subpoena.
He subsequently presented several items found in Dasuki’s properties at 13 John Khadije Street, Asokoro, Abuja; 46 Nelson Mandela Street, Asokoro Abuja; Sabon Birnin Road, Sokoto; and Sultan Abubakar Road, also in Sokoto.
Four different search warrants executed in July 2015 at the four properties led to the recovery of the undisclosed items.
In the end, the DSS exhibit keeper admitted that nothing incriminating was found on the properties.
After the evidence, Justice Lifu held that in the circumstances of the case and by consent of all counsel, “this suit is hereby adjourned to 7, 8 and 9 July 2025 at the instance of the Court for further hearing.
He added: “The learned prosecutor is expected to close his case on these adjourned dates.”
