News
Food for Living: Don’t Rush Life
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
As insatiable beings, we have the tendency to rush at almost everything; food, queue, success and more. What we fail to understand however, is that rushing adds stress and anxiety to life, and this can affect one’s mental state, overtime. Against this backdrop, note that there’s a thin line of difference between destiny and fate. While destiny refers to events that will necessarily happen to a person or thing in the future or the development of events beyond a person’s control which can have an element of supernatural power, fate is a predetermined course of events or series of events/ activities that may occur if one fails to do the things appropriate.
In the journey of life, most times we are consumed about how fast the world is leaving us behind, and as such we tend to think we have to fast track our life, but the truth is there’s a difference between motion and movement. You can be in motion, but not moving. Alternatively, we can say, direction is better than speed.
As human beings, it is normal for us to feel pressured to get our needs and wants. Which vary of course. For example, you might be concerned about making money, starting a business, finding the right partner, having a child or driving to meet an appointment. The truth is everything takes time and regardless of how fast you go, you can’t rush life. An African says, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go with a team.
Rushing seems to have become our DNA, we are always in a haste to publish an article or even write a book. We rush to become an adult before learning to become a kid. We rush to have a relationship before learning about our partner. We rush to build a billion-dollar business before we start working on our startup. We rush to have sex before we learn what sex is all about. The list is literally endless.
It’s normal to feel the urge to impress yourself, your family, friends and shame your detractors, but the experience of life has humbled us to know that patience is a virtue we all need to crave for. When you rush life, you lose out of some of the beautiful things life has to offer. Succeeding in any field of life entails maturity and learning the ropes. You can’t wake up in the morning and decide to be the President of a country, professor, pilot or even a millionaire. Everything takes time. Even the Book of life states “There’s time for everything”.
In life, there are few things you can’t rush, and one of such is friendship. You can’t force someone to like you; you can only influence their thoughts about you. If you make the mistake of using money or material things to make someone to like you, you’re bound to regret later in life, especially when the resources are no longer available. True friendship takes time to grow.
As a job seeker, there’s a job waiting for you, as an entrepreneur or businessman, there’s an opportunity destined for you. What most people fail to understand is that, If you get what you’re not supposed to get , it might hinder your progress . Let’s take a case study of a man/woman who is not yet mature to marry and marries, when the trials of marriage comes, the challenges might lead the couples to divorce. Moral: Our life is a process. Our skill is a process. Our relationship is a process. Our craft is a process. Our business is a process. Our art is a process.
As you may know, slow and steady wins the race, it is normal to get intimidated while looking at the accomplishments of others, but the reality is that we are all different and blessed with different skills, talents and gifts. We are all unique beings.
Sometimes delay can be a blessing to you, you might be driving to meet a scheduled appointment, and along the way you encounter a terrific traffic, ordinarily you might be mad, but if you able to think out of the box, you might realize that if you arrive early, you might meet unfortunate incident you never planned for. The problem might differ, but the point remains that the traffic might prevent you from a bad situation.
The interesting thing about not rushing through life is that sometimes, we learn such valuable lessons along the way. Sometimes, we learn more about ourselves and discover that we want something different. When you stop rushing and slow down, you enjoy life more. Morla: Rushing allows you to live on the surface rather than going deep.
Steps to live a Productive Life is a Process
Life is a process.
Just like a newborn baby takes time to crawl, talk and walk, we must have the mindset of patience by working for the best and expecting the worst. According to Ralph Ransom once “life is a series of steps. Things are done gradually. Once in a while, there is a giant step, but most of the time we are taking a small, seemingly insignificant step on the stairway of life.” Sometimes we think there is a timeline attached to our life which contains. In reality, there is no timeline.
Learn to live in the present
You have to be intentional in whatever you do in life. For example, rather than thinking so much about the future or the past, appreciate the present, when you eat, fully appreciate your food; when you’re with someone, be with them fully. When you’re walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.
Mastery:
Mastery is very critical in our developmental process. Self mastery is priceless. It helps to shape and define you for greater opportunities. Take a mango tree, for example. Initially, when planted as a seed, it is small, and it takes years for it to sprout. But what happens when it hasn’t started growing? It’s collecting the right nutrients while undergoing photosynthesis to grow. And when the result begins to show. you get a solid tree plant. And what happens when its roots grow solid in the ground? It produces fruits, and so it remains forever till it dies out. It’s a slow process, but it’s rewarding.
When you master your craft, you develop some level of expertise in the subject matter. For example, Steve Jobs died as an unfinished project both in his work and life. Micheal Jackson, one of the greatest musicians of all time, died as an unfinished project both in his work and life.
In conclusion, destiny can be delayed, but it can’t be denied, just do your best and leave the rest for God. At the end when your times, no one can stop your blessings. Whatever has your name on it can pass to another person.
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 and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Three Nigerian secondary schools are in the ring for the grand prize of N5m in the ongoing Glo Innov8 National STEM competition for girls in Senior Secondary Schools across the country.
The three top finalists were selected for their originality and innovation in the different entries for the competition. A total of 20 secondary schools were picked from over 200 schools which registered for the competition. After a series of considerations, 10 of them made it to the semifinal from which three; Ephraim High School, Isolo Campus, Lagos; Regina Pacis International School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Peakfield Academy, Jos, Plateau State eventually coasted home to the finals.
Schools from Plateau, Kano, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo, Anambra, FCT, Delta, Kaduna and Adamawa states had signified intentions to participate following a call for entries by Glo Foundation, Globacom’s corporate social responsibility arm as part of its celebration of the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child.
Glo Innov8, a STEM-driven challenge, has scheduled prizes worth N5 million to the three schools in the finals. The competition “is geared at inspiring young girls to Compete, Innovate and Win, while also strengthening their confidence and expanding their knowledge in STEM subjects”, Glo Foundation explained.
The eventual overall winning school will go home with a cash prize of N2,000,000 while the 2 students representing the school will each get a laptop. The Teacher/Mentor/STEM Coordinator also gets N200,000.
The schools that come second and third places and their Teachers/Mentors/STEM Coordinators will also receive mouth-watering consolation prizes.
The three female judges of the virtual phase of selection of the top 20 schools said they were excited by the quality of presentations by the competing schools. One of them, Tosin Olabode said: “I was particularly impressed by the prototype presentations from some schools. They demonstrated that they had done their homework”.
In the same vein, Amina Gabriel disclosed that she was thrilled by the variety of ideas that the schools came up with. “The schools presented innovative solutions tackling issues in agriculture, security, waste management, and firefighting. The top 10 schools showcased outstanding prototypes, from apps to robots, making the judging process truly competitive. I’m grateful to Glo Foundation for the opportunity to serve and support young girls in STEM”, she said.
According to Sharon Ibejih, the third judge, “This competition has showcased a highly competitive next generation of women leaders in STEM. This was an excellent exercise and a means to encourage more students in STEM to develop problem-solving and innovative thinking skills”.
The overall winning school will emerge at an event set to hold later this year at the Mike Adenuga Centre (Alliance Française), Ikoyi, Lagos.
The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a motion to stop the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in his trial for alleged terrorism.
Justice James Omotosho, on November 7, fixed November 20 for judgment on the case.
The judge fixed the date after Kanu’s defence was foreclosed following his insistence that he would not enter his defence under a repealed law.
However, in the motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, he personally filed, the IPoB leader sought seven reliefs.
In the application dated November 10 and filed same date, Kanu sought an order arresting the delivery of judgment in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015.
The document was made public on Tuesday.
In it, he alleged that the proceedings were conducted under a repealed and non-existent statute and in disobedience to the Supreme Court’s directive contrary to Section 287(1) CFRN 1999.”
He sought a declaration that by virtue of Section 287(1) CFRN, the trial court was constitutionally bound to give effect to the Supreme Court’s finding that count 15 (now count 7) “does not exist in law,” and its failure rendered all subsequent proceedings null and void.
He also sought a declaration that the court’s failure to take judicial notice of the repeal of the 2013 Terrorism Act, contrary to Section 122 Evidence Act 2011, vitiates all steps taken thereunder.
The IPOB leader equally sought a declaration that by virtue of Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try him in the absence of proof that the alleged conduct constituted an offence under Kenyan law or of any Kenyan judicial validation or extradition order.
Besides, Kanu sought “a declaration that the plea purportedly taken on March 29, under a repealed and non-existent statute and in violation of Section 220 ACJA 2015 is void and incapable of conferring jurisdiction.
President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.
The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.
The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.
Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.
The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.
The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.
In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.
This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.
In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.
