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Food for Living: Destiny As a Catalyst
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By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
The concept of destiny is very broad because it means several things to several people in diverse fields including religious, politics, education, entrepreneurship or family. It’s meaning is however, dependent on the interpretation one gives to it. But one thing is certain, destiny connotes the end point or destination of somebody or something.
As the author of Design Your Destiny, I believe I am in a better position to speak about destiny and how it is applicable to life. Not only have my life been transformed by destiny, but I have also seen in real times how destiny played a significant role in the lives of ordinary people.
To understand the concept of destiny, I will be writing from an inspirational and rational point of view. It is important to state that for the emancipation of anyone, one needs to understand how life and the principles of life work work, otherwise, one will be confused.
It is normal for someone to be concerned about what the future holds for him. Sometimes, one will be concerned about where the next food or job opportunity will come from. I have good news for you though, relax, destiny is working purposely for your benefit. You don’t have to know, but just believe and trust the process.
No human being can know what will happen the next second, minute, day, week, month, year, and decade. We only live by the grace of God. So, don’t be anxious of what life has in stock for you, just do your best and continue to add value to your life, and the universe has a way of aligning circumstances and life for you. In my native country, we have a saying: nobody knows the stomach that will give birth to a king.
I have personally seen and experienced transformation in my life. I have seen the grace of God. I have seen people who the world has given up as people who don’t have any chance of making a headway in life, succeeding in an exponential manner. A classical case of study is former President Goodluck Jonathan, who rose from a humble position of being a lecturer to Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President, in a way no rational mind can decipher.
What most uninformed people fail to understand is that nobody knows tomorrow, and God is the greatest orchestrator of human destiny. It’s so sad to see some people play God. It’s also instructive to know that the son of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated.
To put it in better perspective, no matter how one may try, nobody knows who will be elected as a Representative, Senator, Governor of a State, or President of a country. Nobody even knows who the wealthiest man in the society will be when tomorrow comes.
One may have a mentor or a biological parent who may be wealthy, or in a position of authority, or influential in the society, and note that no matter how much your parent or your mentor will love you, he can’t dictate what will happen when they are no longer in authority. The best the person can do is to strategically position you or give you publicity within his network of influence, but that will not determine if you’ll get what you desire in the grand scheme of things.
To really understand how this works, let’s take a case of Nigeria, where a mentor might influence the position of someone who is likely to be the President or Governor of a State. Upon expiration of the mentee’s tenure, they might decide who their successor will be, and the successor will also determine who their successor will be, and the list continues.
Do you now see the concept of destiny is relative. The creator might position somebody to take a position 10, 20 or even 50 years ahead just to fulfil a purpose.
Let’s take another perspective of destiny; the creator of heaven and earth might strategically position somebody to travel out of the country just to fulfil a destined purpose. The person might not know he is being used to fulfil a purpose just like the devil can be used to ‘bless’ someone in disguise without knowing.
Destiny can be quite complicated, some people might be destined to be in a particular region, while others might be destined to succeed in another region. To know where you are destined to be, I will strongly advise everyone to reach out to their creator by seeking the face and mindset of God through prayer and meditation. God has a way of revealing his plans to everyone.
The sad part of life is sometimes, human beings try to play God by working out their destiny and purpose in life. They fail to realize that they didn’t create themselves and didn’t get whatever they have by their ability, rather by the grace of God. Whenever, men think they are god, God will let them know in subtle ways, he is the Lord and God of gods. So, be humble about life because you don’t know what life will unfold for you. It is pertinent to mention that, when royalties are failing, God will raise people, stones to praise him, so be humble before life will humble you.
On a personal experience, during my chamber attachment while in Nigerian Law School, I was experiencing a little bit of financial challenge, especially living in the expensive City of Abuja, and as such, I was trying to mitigate cost. I reached out to the posting coordinator in law school to give me a nearby firm which won’t allow me to spend more money, he stated, such practice is not allowed. He was kind enough to listen to me to explain my reasons, he really felt for me and asked for the name of the firm I wanted to intern with, I gave him the name of the firm, he searched the directory, but couldn’t find the name of the firm. I didn’t know the law firm uses a partnership name as opposed to an individual name. He asked me a question, “are you a Christian”, I said yes, he said believe in your God. He used himself as an example, he said, as Muslim, he doesn’t believe in working things out, because one might work out one’s destiny. I took his word to heart.
Guess what, when the list was posted, I was posted in my estate where I didn’t have to spend a dime on transportation. The funny part was that, assuming my plan worked out, I would have to pay a decent amount of my money to get to my desired law firm. Do you see God came through for me? It’s destiny at work. The most joyful part of it was that, not only did I work with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, I had the humble opportunity of being on television on a number of cases because my boss was handling the case of the daughter of the former President of Nigeria at the said time. More importantly, during my sojourn to the United States this great man played a significant role with his thoughtful advice and assistance. He was later appointed a Minister by President Buhari in 2015., but the cold hands of death snatched him away.
Another interesting story was during my National Youth Service Corp. While most people were working out their posting, I refused to work out mine despite pressure from friends and family members. I borrowed some sense using my experience during my law school. Ordinarily, I was posted to a remote place, but God came through for me when the Governor of the State came with a friend of mine who works with African Independent Television to cover the event.
During one of our engagements, he mentioned to me, the Governor gave him 500milion naira to set up African Independent television in the state. This great man asked me to recruit youth corpers who will work for him, and he will pay them 100 thousand naira every month, and mine will be special. I thanked him for the opportunity and informed him, I won’t be able to deliver because I will travel to the US after my service year. After a decade, this man facilitated an opportunity to interview in Abuja. The moral of the story is that, imagine if I worked out my posting, who knows where I would have been.
Furthermore, when destiny is at work, God can command a sick person who is supposed to die to live simply because it’s not yet time for the person to depart this sinful world.
In conclusion, regardless of what you are going through, please don’t be hard on yourself, whether you are looking for an opportunity, life partner, mentor, etc., just seek for the creator to design your destiny by connecting you to the right people who will enable you to fulfil his purpose concerning your life.
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 Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Governor Ademola Adeleke said he has forgiven all those who may have offended him during the state elections and declared that he bears no grudge against political adversaries and opponents.
The governor who spoke while receiving a certificate of return from the electoral commission said “God has fought my battles for me and so I hold unto God throughout the duration of the political war and now that I have been re-elected”
While announcing a Five Hundred Million naira (N500m) education scholarship for victims of political violence, the governor commended the electoral body for acting professionally and within the dictates of the electoral act.
“I commend the electoral commission for doing a good job. You stood for democracy. I commend the security agencies, especially the Commissioner of Police for Election, the DSS. I would have loved the police to do more but we thank God the election day went violent free”, the governor submitted.
The INEC National Commissioner for Osun election, Prof Kunle Ajayi in his address commended the passion, the commitment and the activism of Osun voters whom he said defied electoral violence and trooped out to exercise their voting rights.
“Osun people are the heroes of the Saturday election. Active citizenry always makes a difference in the conduct of credible elections. Osun people proved to the world that democracy can work when the people are involved”, the INEC chief said
At a massively attended rally organised by the joint labour movement at Osogbo, the governor commiserated with families of the deceased and the injured, lamenting that “we remember Ezekiel Olapade, Aderogba Ajayi, Remi Abass, Kolade Eluyera, and the many other victims whose lives were cut short or permanently affected by electoral violence. To their families, I say: your pain has not been forgotten, and your loved ones will never be reduced to statistics.
“As part of our commitment to supporting affected families, the Adeleke family, through the Springtime Development Foundation, will provide automatic scholarships up to university level for the children and dependents of those who lost their lives”, the governor declared at a separate celebration rally organised by Osun labour movement.
“Today is not merely a day for the presentation of a Certificate of Return. It is a day of gratitude, reflection and, above all, appreciation for the people of Osun State who stood firm for democracy.
“This certificate does not belong to Ademola Adeleke alone. It belongs to the people of Osun State, the market men and women, workers, youths, traditional and religious leaders, and every citizen who demonstrates that our democracy cannot be intimidated, purchased or suppressed. I am deeply humbled by your courage and by the confidence you have renewed in me.
“But as we celebrate, we must remember those who paid a painful price during the electoral process. Citizens were injured, properties were destroyed, livelihoods disrupted and, most painfully, lives were lost.
“In addition, the Osun State Government will establish a ₦500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund to provide relief and support to verified victims and families affected by the violence.
“A Verification and Relief Committee, chaired by the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Olumide Egbedun, will oversee the transparent identification and assessment of victims and the equitable distribution of relief.
“This is not a political fund. It is a humanitarian intervention. No eligible victim will be discriminated against on the basis of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, gender or social status”, the governor told the thousands of public workers at the State Secretariat.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Osun state chapter, Dr Christopher Arapasopo praised the labour movement on the re-election of Governor Adeleke and announced that in future legislative elections, Osun workers will still vote for Accord candidates.
“We defied attacks and intimidation to support the re-election of Governor Adeleke. We will never bow to those who want to enslave us. We will still vote Accord in future legislative elections”, the labour chief vowed.
Governor Adeleke later visited the Ataoja of Osogbo, the Timi of Ede and Senator Oluwole Alabi to present his certificate of returns for royal blessings.
Re-elected Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has instructed his Attorney General to withdraw the suit filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the State government’s bank account.
Adeleke disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, hours after he was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election.
Asked whether he is ready to put the political disagreements and the EFCC case behind him, the governor said he has decided to move on following President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.
“I’m putting them behind. What else do I want? I have instructed my Attorney General to drop it. Mr. President has done well. He called me. What more do I want?” Adeleke said.
The governor had earlier challenged the EFCC’s decision to secure an order freezing the state government’s account, describing the move as politically motivated and disruptive to the administration’s activities.
President Tinubu subsequently directed the anti-graft agency to lift the restriction and discontinue the related legal action, following concerns over the timing of the freeze ahead of the Osun governorship election.
On allegations that some of his supporters and officials are being invited and questioned by the EFCC, Adeleke said he has directed his lawyers to provide the necessary assistance.
“Well, we have been talking. I have been calling all my lawyers to go there. I’m sure the APC in Osun, according to them, they are telling us they are using federal might,” he said.
Adeleke, however, said he does not believe President Tinubu is aware of some of the actions attributed to federal agencies.
“Most of these things, the President doesn’t know. The President has a lot of foreign work and jobs to do,” he said.
According to the governor, some of his aides were invited by the EFCC for questioning but were released after no wrongdoing was established.
“I told my people, go there. We haven’t got anything to hide. And when they go there, they ask them questions, and then they will say, ‘Go on.’ Can you imagine my spokesperson? You are inviting my spokesperson – is my spokesperson a finance minister or accountant?” Adeleke asked.
He described the invitations as a distraction and alleged that former Osun State governor Gboyega Oyetola was behind the development because of his relationship with President Tinubu.
“All these things is Oyetola because he is the cousin to the President. He is dropping the President’s name. I know that the President didn’t know about the EFCC one. That is why he had to call me and stop it,” Adeleke said.
The EFCC froze an Osun State Government bank account earlier in August as part of an investigation into the alleged handling of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, intervention funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds.
The commission said it had detected suspicious movements of funds and restricted the account to prevent further transfers while its investigation continued.
The development triggered a dispute between the commission and the Adeleke administration, with the governor describing the action as politically motivated and taking the EFCC to court.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed the EFCC to return to court to vacate the freezing order and discontinue the related action, saying the timing could create the impression that a federal agency was being used to interfere with the election.
Adeleke secured a second term as Osun State governor, winning 511,067 votes against APC’s Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815. ADC’s Najeem Salaam came third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 LGAs, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Following his victory, Adeleke described the result as a triumph for democracy and pledged to transform Osun into an industrial hub.
He also called for unity, saying there was “no victor, no vanquished.”
His re-election sparked celebrations across the state, particularly in Osogbo and his hometown, Ede, with his nephew Davido also celebrating on social media.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has resumed the upload of results from the Osun State governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), with more than 92.53 per cent of polling unit results now available on the platform.
Tribune Online reports that 3,482 results had been uploaded out of the 3,763 polling units across the state, representing 92.53 per cent of the total results expected on the portal.
Concerns were earlier raised after result uploads on the IReV portal appeared to stall for about three hours.
The delay triggered reactions from several social media users, including Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, who questioned the halt in the upload process.
In a post on X, he wrote, “INEC IREV uploads have been stuck for almost 2 hours now. 3292 out of 3763 results submitted and then silence. This is not acceptable Why has the uploading stopped?@inecnigeria
Another X user, @mundus01 tweeted, “Osun IReV uploads have been stalled for over 2 hours. The last result was published at 8:48:08 p.m. The portal is online, but no new results are appearing. @inecnigeria, what is happening? This doesn’t look good.”
