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Food for Living: Create Your Own Path
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
It is a well-acknowledged fact that the way you make your bed is how you will lie on it. This implies that nobody will literally give you success; you must demand it. No great or successful man/woman ever succeeded by luck, no, they took a reasonable risk by creating their own path which worked for them.
Just like there are many ways to kill a rat, there are also many ways to success. The question you need to ask yourself is what path am I willing to thread on? In my first published book, I had a chapter focused on “Understanding Your Uniqueness”. In the chapter, I stressed knowing what’s unique about you. You can’t succeed in life trying to be like somebody else. You can imitate someone, but you can never imitate their style. Their style is what makes them unique. It’s just like singing, dancing, writing, painting or drawing or any talented or skilled work which distinguishes a creative person.
It is quite unfortunate in our contemporary society that there’s so much imitation. What most people fail to understand is that imitation is limitation. In the journey of life, you must create your path. Do you know that the whole world sets apart the man who knows where he’s headed? Visionary leaders are always misunderstood because of their ideas and dreams. Many see their ideas as unattainable, but they fail to see what the person is seeing. The truth is that we all might sit in the same classroom, but we don’t hear, understand and comprehend the same thing. We all might be walking together, but we don’t see the same thing. We all experience pain, but we don’t feel the same thing.
For you to truly succeed, you must create your own path. Creating your own path entails knowing yourself, your purpose, and the legacy you would like to create or leave behind. You don’t have to care much about what other people say. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to hear the opinion of others, but the ultimate decision is up to you to take. This is because you are the architect of your life. Nobody knows you more than you know yourself.
Your path maybe uncommon, and that’s okay. For example, your joy in life may be to be an entrepreneur, employee, a minister of the gospel, or even an academic. All that is important is your happiness and fulfillment. You shouldn’t be concerned with the kind of lifestyle or choice of another person. It’s sad to note that most people judge success by money alone. Don’t get me wrong, money is good, but it shouldn’t be to the detriment of your peace of mind, your health, and most especially your fulfillment in life.
Identified below are ways one can create his own path:
Have a vision
We all have dreams, but sadly, many of us die without accomplishing our dreams. Growing up, we all have dreams of what we would like to be, but as we grow older, the vicissitudes of life make us settle for what is available, very few determined minds dared to live their dreams even when it seems unpopular to most people. If I may ask, what’s your vision? If you can create your vision, the next thing for you is to create goals that support the vision. When the vision is created, the onus is on you to listen to the inner still voice within you. Do yourself a favour and stop listening to other people. Remember, you are creating your path and not their path.
Follow Your Intuition
Intuition is our innate inclination towards a certain behavior. Basically, it is your instincts. Generally, your intuition will guide you in the direction that you need to go. It can be hard to hear our intuition at times, especially if we are not in the habit of listening to it. To know if you have the right promptings, you’ll have peace of mind whenever you are working on purpose.
Don’t Be Scared
Fear is a natural human emotion. We all feel it occasionally. Fear is one of the killers of dreams and opportunities. No one said you have to be the bravest person in the world in order to live your dream. But you do have to be willing to face your fears and go for it anyways. Fear can mean face everything and rise or false evidence appearing real. Anyone you decide to pursue is your choice.
In order to create your path, fear should be the least thing in your mind, as a matter of fact, you should be afraid of failing. Fear should motivate you. If you believe in your idea, you shouldn’t be afraid of walking in the path. It’s okay to feel afraid, but please don’t let those fears stop you. You can literally overcome the fear by taking a risk.
Stand for what you believe in
If you don’t stand for something in life, you will fall for anything. A great philosopher once said, in matters of principle, stand firm like a rock, but in matters of taste, fluctuate like a current. If you have a cause or vision you are passionate about, you will encounter challenges that may tempt you to give up, but your ability to stand your ground is what will define you. A typical example of a man that stood his ground for what he believes in is the former President of South African, Nelson Mandela. He fought against the apartheid laws in South Africa. He was jailed for twenty-seven years, but at the of the day, he was elected the President of South Africa.
It should be noted that there will be an associated risk when you decide to choose your path. You might win, you might lose. The mistake most people make in life is not taking worthy risks. Some risk is literally unreasonable. The worthy risk is a calculated risk. So, why not take the risk and join the millionaires? To know an example of a worthy risk; if as a single man you see a lady you like, have the courage to let her know your honest thoughts towards her, the worst response you’ll get is a no, a rebuff, or even humiliation. However, you might still be fortunate to get a positive answer because you may never know if she’s admiring you without your knowledge. So why not take that risk and be satisfied that you have done your bit as opposed to living in regret tomorrow.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and public speaker. 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
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It’s impossible for any mortal person to claim that he has not at one time or another felt envious. In other words, everyone somehow has wished they have something other people; friends, partners, siblings, colleagues or even family members, have. It is worthy of note that the Creator of heaven and earth designed the universe in such a way that everyone needs to depend on one another for survival. Nobody has it all.
While one person may be gifted in singing, another might be gifted in praying, healing, speaking or writing. Yet another might be gifted in playing soccer, while another might be gifted in sprinting, tennis, swimming, and more.
As a Human Capacity Development expert, I have come to realize that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. The mistake most people make is to chase what is not chasing them instead of focusing on developing themselves.
When you develop yourself, it will be easy for other people to appreciate and support you, but when you focus your energy on being jealous of what other people have, you deprive yourself of attracting blessings and opportunities to your life. As a Life coach, I always tell my tribe, major on your major and work on your weakness.
Envy is not only when one is jealous of what someone has, it also means greed when one is not satisfied with what one has. Isn’t it true that greed makes a rich man poor and contentment makes a rich man poor. It is important to note that you can’t attract what you hate. If you see anyone thriving, please if you can’t support them, please leave them the way you are instead of pulling them down.
One of the best ways to succeed in life is to know oneself. According to Socrates, “man know thyself”. When you understand who you are, you will understand what’s unique about you, and you won’t be concerned about the activities of others. The benefit of self-discovery is priceless. Self-discovery will help you to make the right choice, it will assist you to unleash your potential, and it will ultimately help you to be intentional with your life.
One of the reasons why envy is paramount is that we don’t practice gratitude and appreciation. Most often, we look towards what we lack instead of looking at what we have. There’s an adage that says, it is because the philosopher was too busy to get to the promised land that he forgot there’s a ditch in front of him and he fell inside. That’s the philosophy of envy.
It’s instructive to note that envy is not only deadly, but also “cancerous” because when it envelops someone, it blinds the person not to see the good in others. Envy, if not properly managed, can cause more than damage.
There was a story about two friends- John and Paul. John woke up one morning to a gleaming new model Toyota Camry in Paul’s garage. He went green with envy, and by the next day, he had the same brand of car in his own garage to prove a point. Unknown to John, he didn’t know that Paul’s car was a gift from his wealthy father-in-law. John on the other hand had to exhaust all his savings to buy his own car just to prove whatever point he had in mind.
At the end of the day, Paul was smiling well and living his best life, but John was experiencing financial challenges that threatened his marriage because of his pride and greed to prove a point. The moral of this message is to desist from competing with people, rather compete with oneself by being better than you were yesterday.
One good reason why envy and covetousness are such terrible afflictions is because what is right for others may not be right for you. If your motivation is to have what others have, your decisions will be targeted at the wrong or goal. Your goal must be self-geared and not to keep up with the neighbors.
It’s instructive to note that we are not on earth to impress anyone, except God. Yes, it’s good to impress our boss at work, our friends, family members, mentors, and benefactors, etc., it should be done with moderation. What is important is for one to know the intention behind whatever they are doing. This is because when you try to please man, you’ll fail, but when we try to do the right thing, everything will fall in place. According to Bill Cosby, I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone. Moral: Just do you and everyone will be fine because at the end of the day, those that care, don’t matter and those that matter don’t care.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, please avoid envy, run from it and be satisfied with what you have.
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 Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
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WAEC Dismisses Viral Letter on Deployment of Security Personnel to Exam Centres As Fabricated, Fake
By Eric Elezuo
A statement signed by the Ag. Head, Public Affairs, West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Office, Yaba, Ms Moyosola Adesina, on behalf of the Head of National Office, has denied and dismissed a letter purportedly issued by WAEC, and making the rounds on the internet, as forged, fake and fabricated.
The statement stated categoricrally that ‘the Council has not issued any such directive regarding the deployment of security personnel to individual examination centers as described in the rogue letter.’
The Council urged schools and examination centres to disregard the letter and it’s content as ‘it did not emanate from the office of the Senior Deputy Registrar (Test Administration) or any other department within WAEC Nigeria’.
Below is WAEC’s statement in full:
The attention of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, has been drawn to a fraudulent letter making the rounds in the media space.
The fabricated letter, dated May 27, 2026, bears the reference number L/SED/12/DIST/VOL. 4/460 and is addressed to “The Proprietor/Principal of schools.
The forged document falsely claims that the Council has finalized plans for a “comprehensive deployment” of personnel from the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to all WAEC examination centers across Nigeria, effective June 1, 2026. The letter also features a forged signature of the Senior Deputy Registrar/Head (Test Administration), Mr. S.D. Kum.
The Management of the West African Examinations Council wishes to state categoricrally that the said letter is fake, as it did not emanate from the office of the Senior Deputy Registrar (Test Administration) or any other department within WAEC Nigeria. Similarly, the Council has not issued any such directive regarding the deployment of security personnel to individual examination centers as described in the rogue letter.
Furthermore, WAEC recognizes that this letter is the handiwork of mischief-makers and fraudsters aiming to create unnecessary panic, disrupt the smooth conduct of the ongoing examination, and mislead school proprietors, principals, parents, and candidates.
On this note, school authorities, supervisors, invigilators, parents, and the general public are hereby advised to completely disregard the contents of the said letter.
The Council hereby wishes all registered candidates for WASSCE for School Candidates, 2026 the very best in their preparations for the examination.
The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) has continued to deepen, as the President Bola Tinubu’s daughter, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, on Wednesday, called for the disbandment of the influential Justice Forum and Mandate Movement groups over alleged manipulation of the party’s primaries.
Tinubu-Ojo, daughter of President Bola Tinubu, specifically faulted the conduct of the House of Representatives primary for Mushin Constituency I, Agege Constituency II, and Ojokoro, alleging that the mandate of aspirants in the constituencies was stolen and handed to “a non-winner”.
Speaking during the weekly meeting of market leaders and stakeholders at the Iyaloja-General’s office in Alausa, Ikeja, she condemned what she described as political shenanigans and warned against attempts to subvert the will of party members.
She also decried the alleged marginalisation of traders by political office holders despite their contributions to the growth and electoral success of the APC in Lagos State.
The Iyaloja General cited the cases of Mutiu Olaide Oladeebo in Agege Constituency II, Seye Oladejo in Mushin Federal Constituency, and Olotu Emmanuel Ojo in Ojokoro, insisting that the aspirants won their respective primaries convincingly before moves were allegedly made to alter the outcomes.
She said: “We have to cry out now; let the APC cancel Justice and Mandate Forums because our governorship candidate belongs to the Justice Forum.” Everybody is now joking at the Justice Forum because that is where our incoming governor belongs. Are we not Lagosians? When he becomes the governor, he will not be the governor for the APC alone; he has to balance it. Even when you are the governor, you have to lead both your friends and foes. It is saddening that when a Mandate Forum aspirant wins, he jumps to Justice Forum; it is saddening. It is a way of telling us that hard work doesn’t pay in politics.
“Something must be done on that because it is important.
We are sure that Seye Oladejo won in Mushin Federal Constituency and Olotu Emmanuel Ojo in Ojokoro won in Ojoroko with a landslide.
“In fact, we decided to calm down and see what they will do about it because we are ready to protest. We know they won the election and their mandate should not be given to somebody else.”
She urged APC leaders at the state and national levels to immediately investigate the disputed primaries and ensure that justice prevailed before final ratification of the results.
She warned that failure to address the grievances could worsen internal tensions within the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Tinubu-Ojo declared that market women across Lagos remain committed to supporting the governorship ambition of Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat and other APC candidates nationwide, but stressed that traders deserve recognition and political appointments in return for their loyalty and sacrifices.
She also urged President Bola Tinubu to acknowledge traders as critical stakeholders in national development.
Meanwhile, aggrieved APC members and supporters in Mushin have threatened mass protests if the alleged mandate of Oladejo is not restored.
The protesters accused leaders of the Justice Forum bloc of attempting to impose candidates and undermine internal democracy within the party.
“We know who won the election, and the mandate should not be stolen. We are ready to protest if justice is not done,” one of the protesters said.
