News
Food for Living: Break Barriers, Create New Vistas
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
Setting a record is the joy of every progressive mind, organisation, government and business. It cannot be overemphasized that everyone wants to set a new record. Records are being set daily in different sectors all over the world. For instance, Coronavirus has set new record of global health pandemic in USA and the world general because of the “new normal” it introduced. The new record has affected all businesses including but not limited to corporate organizations, hospitals, entertainment industry, and even the family circle is not left out. You can decide to set a record for yourself. To set a new record, one must be ready to break barriers and create new vistas, and as easy as it appears, it takes guts and extra-ordinary energy to achieve. During the course of this article, we shall be discussing practical examples on how we can set a new record for ourselves.
Setting a new record can be likened to having a new friend. Your circle of friends can either make or mar you. This is because they can either challenge you to do better than yourself or lead you to downfall. Despite having great friends/network around you, the greatest record one can ever set is overcoming himself. You may be wondering how can one overcome himself? Overcoming oneself simply means to do better than you did yesterday. It’s quite unfortunate many people compete with their friends within their network, family, and colleagues forgetting the fact that the best way of competing is engaging in healthy competition. Competing with oneself entails doing better than what you did the previous day, week, month or year.
It is interesting to note that those who you spend your time with will in some way determine how your life will be. Let us take a case study of married couples, once they are married, there’s a great possibility that either the husband or the wife will influence their spouse either negatively or positively. Furthermore, you cannot hang out with chicken and expect to soar. It is always good to look at your friends and see what they are doing and where they are heading to. Ask yourself, where will I be in five, ten years or more? What will make me feel fulfilled? In order to set a new record, you must exceed expectations by going over and beyond. By so doing you’ll be on the path of setting a new world record depending on your expectations. Moral: Choose your friends wisely.
Having said that the greatest form of competition is healthy competition, it is worthy of note that healthy competition is applicable where family members and friends inspire each one to succeed as opposed to trying to dim the light or trying to outsmart another person in a greedy manner. In setting a new record, it is important to know the kind of record you’ll like to set. Some people like to trend for negative reasons while some like to trend for positive reasons. The choice is yours.
Furthermore, there are certain qualities a rational mind must have if he desires to set a new record. One of the qualities is determination. You cannot take away determination from record setting. Some of us have some bad habits which needs to be thrown into the garbage bin. These negative habits can be the limitation factor why we fail to reach our peak. If you have colleagues who are only interested in having fun without balancing it with work, it will surely rob off on you.Avoid them. Spirits are transferable by way of association and influence. Hangout with successful people and you will be successful because the possibility of learning how they live their life is guaranteed.
Set boundaries.
If you are going to reach your highest potential in life, you need to set boundaries and limitations for friends and family members. People need to know what you stand for. If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll die for nothing Question: What will you like the world to remember you for? In the journey of life, you need to identify with the right people. It’s sad to note that sometimes, due to vested interest, progressive minds seem to associate with people who don’t value or identify with their vision. They are merely after what will they gain from them. They are therefore, concerned about their income, relationship as opposed to their mission and vision. These unholy associations are most times geared towards getting sponsors and potential partners to relate closely with. If you ask them why identify with such people, they would snap, ‘what if I lose my business?’ And I ask, what if you lose the vision, perception, image, brand and mission of your company?
Environmental Factors
According to John Quincy Adams, “if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more and do more, you’re a leader”. If you truly desire to make in a difference, you must make sure you look past your environment. You don’t have to be limited by your environment. You have to be willing to separate yourself from whatever limits your thought process. You need to know what limits you from succeeding. Your greatest desire is to grow and you can do this by conquering new grounds. You don’t have to be stuck in what your environment offers you, neither should you be concerned of what community is saying. The law of the group says, ‘we associate with people with the way we see ourselves’.
As mentioned earlier, your vision and goal are what should rule your mind and life. If your community and friends won’t affect you positively between now and the next wenty years, there’s no reason why you should be around them. Your greatest concern should be the quality and not the quantity of people you have in your life. One loyal and impactful friend is better than ten general friends.
In conclusion, the higher you go, the more selective you have to be. Not everyone needs to be in your circle of lifestyle. You grow up to meet and associate with people, organizations, countries and leaders of thought and industry who identify with your values and vision. That is the notion you should have. You don’t have to relate or associate with people because they are related to you by family or blood. The best way to go around it is to treat them with respect while relating with them from a distance. They may feel bad, but guess what, you’re not responsible for others happiness; you’re responsible for your own happiness.
Food for thought: If you don’t get the wrong people out, the right people won’t come.
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. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com
A federal judge in the United States, on Thursday, put a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
The ruling imposes a 14-day halt on the enforcement of one of the most controversial executive orders Trump signed hours after being sworn into office for a second term.
It comes after lawsuits were filed by a total of 22 states, two cities and numerous civil rights groups.
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” senior US District Judge John Coughenour was reported as saying during the hearing in Washington State.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades, I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is,” said Coughenour, who was appointed to the bench by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan.
Birthright citizenship is fundamental to America’s national identity, with the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution decreeing that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.
It says, in part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump’s order was premised on the idea that anyone in the US illegally, or on a visa, was not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country, and therefore excluded from this category.
AFP
The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital has upheld the death sentence of Ramon Adedoyin, a prominent businessman and hotelier, for his involvement in the murder of one Timothy Adegoke, a former postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, the court affirmed the earlier verdict of the Osun State High Court, which had sentenced Adedoyin to death.
“The judgment of the High Court of Osun State stands. Adedoyin’s appeal is dismissed in part,” the court declared in part.
The Court of Appeal, however, set aside some aspects of the lower court’s orders, including the forfeiture of the Hilton Hotel and the order for Adedoyin to pay for the education of Adegoke’s children.
Furthermore, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to impose penalties outside the statutory provisions
Adegoke’s death was reported in November 2021 after his corpse was found at the Hilton Honours Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he had lodged.
The hotelier had travelled from Abuja for an examination at a distance learning centre in Moro, Osun State on November 5 of that year.
He had checked into the hotel but was reported missing after two days. However, Adegoke’s body was found days later, leading to a probe that linked his death to Adedoyin and others.
In May 2023, Adedoyin and others were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder.
But dissatisfied with the judgement, Adedoyin approached the Appeal court to dismiss the sentence and conviction.
The court of appeal, on Thursday, however, upheld the conviction and death sentence of the hotelier.
The Nigeria Police have announced that their operatives have rescued Mrs Folasade Odumosu, the wife of a former Assistant Inspector General, Hakeem Odumosu, who was last Thursday, kidnapped at the entrance of her home in Arepo, Ogun State.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, noting that two of the kidnappers were killed while four others escaped without their weapons.
Adejobi said with the support of the Force Headquarters technical intelligence platforms, the Ogun State police operatives engaged Odumosu’s abductors in a gun duel and neutralized the criminals in the swampy area of Ikorodu on Wednesday.
The police spokesman added that Mrs Odumosu is currently undergoing a medical evaluation and has since been reunited with her family.
The statement read, “In a commendable display of teamwork and swift action, police operatives attached to the Ogun State Command have successfully neutralized the kidnappers of Mrs. Odumosu, wife of Retired Assistant-Inspector General, AIG Hakeem Odumosu, and rescued her unharmed.
“On January 16, 2025, at approximately 9:45 PM, four masked gunmen forcibly abducted Mrs. Odumosu from her Lexus Jeep outside her residence in Arepo, Ogun State. The abduction sparked an immediate response from the anti-kidnapping unit of the Ogun State Police Command, who commenced a thorough investigation and targeted pursuit of the kidnappers.
“With the support of the Force Headquarters technical intelligence platforms, the Ogun State police operatives engaged in extensive surveillance of the creeks surrounding Arepo, gathering crucial information to track down the assailants. Their efforts culminated in a raid on January 23, 2025, at around 06:45 AM. The intelligence-led operation took the police to a creek in the swampy area of Ikorodu, where the kidnappers were reportedly planning their next attack.
“Upon arrival, the operatives encountered the kidnappers, who opened fire. In the ensuing confrontation, two of the gunmen were neutralized, while four others fled the scene, abandoning their operational weapons.”
Adejobi said the police operatives recovered N10m initially paid to the kidnappers, four Ak-47 rifles, three locally made single barrel rifles, and ammunition of various calibres.
He added, “The victim, Mrs Odumosu was rescued within the swampy creeks during the operation, unharmed. She is currently undergoing medical evaluation as a precautionary measure and has since been reunited with her family. The police also recovered 4 Ak-47 rifles, 3 locally made single barrel rifles, ammunition of various calibres, and the sum of N10,000,000 ransom previously demanded by the kidnappers, further ensuring that justice is served.”
Adejobi said the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, commended the police operatives and the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, for the rescue operation.
He asserted that the Police Force is committed to safeguarding the citizens and combat kidnapping and other violent crimes.
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM., has commended the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo, and his operatives for their displayed gallantry in this successful operation.
“This operation exemplifies the dedication and resilience of our Police officers. The Nigeria Police Force remains steadfast in its mission to combat kidnapping and other violent crimes, providing safety and security to all citizens,” he added.
