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Food for Living: Influence Your Life with Your Words
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
There’s power in written and spoken words. Fact. Little wonder a saying goes thus, ‘if you want to hide something from a black man, put it inside a book’. I’m not trying to be sarcastic about the black community or insinuate that black people don’t read, but I’m just saying that, there’s power in not only spoken words, but in written words also.
Words do not only have deep meanings, they also have deep powers which are not visible to the eye, but can be felt. In communication, it is often stated that it is not merely what we say that matters, but how we say it. Even the Bible opines that it is not what enters the mouth of a man that defiles a man but what comes out of the mouth. This goes to let us know that there’s power in words. Proper use of words can bring you unmerited opportunities you never dreamt of. The usefulness of the right words, diction and message cannot be over emphasized.
It does not matter which industry you are in. A marketer needs to have the right words to sell their products; a business man/woman needs the right words to negotiate transactions; a lawyer needs to articulate the right words to make a case for his/her client; a minister of the gospel needs the right words to convey his/her message to the congregation and parents need the right words to transmit knowledge to their child/children. In the same vein, government officials and leaders of thought and industry need the right words to communicate with their people. Even strangers need to have the civility of using the right words in public places. Gary Chapman, in his book, Five Love Languages, mentioned five love languages that human beings ought to know and use to relate cordially. The five love languages are words affirmation, gift, services, time and physical touch.
The right use of words cannot be over empathized. Words are like seeds. I call them the seeds of greatness because you can use your words to strategically position yourself. The direction of your words has a role to play with respect to how you think and process your words. Isn’t it true that out of the abundant of the heart, the mouth speaks? Just to let you know how powerful words are, when you speak, the walls hear it, the ground stamps it, and the air carries it. That’s simply how powerful words operate.
As human beings, sometimes we don’t know how efficacious our words are. If only we do, we won’t it take it lightly. Testimonies abound where great men and resourceful people say what they will like to do and it came to pass. It should be noted that your life will be guided on the position and direction of your words. However, words are only effective when you back it up with actions. For example, if you plant apple, you won’t expect to reap orange, no, you reap what you sow. Even when you plant apple, you need to take time to nurture it by removing the weeds, apply fertilizers to it and harvest it at the right time. That is simply how words operate, it makes no sense to just proclaim words into the air and believe it will turn out the way you wish. No, you need to walk the talk.
You need to pay attention to whatever you say, especially as it relates to yourself, your children, your business and your life generally. Stop cursing yourself and start blessing your life. If you have children, continually speak to them by affirming whatever you want them to be. I have had cause to build brand and image of both individuals and small business, during the cause of my teachings, I told my audience, especially the ladies to tell themselves, I am beautiful. You can do this every day by looking at the mirror. You don’t need to wait for anyone to tell you you’re beautiful before you believe or feel it. Tell yourself you are beautiful even though you don’t see it, but you can feel it and it’ll make you feel good.
Don’t use your words to describe your situation, rather, use it to change the situation
Don’t talk about the problem, talk about the promise. If for instance you did not get the promotion you were hoping to get, instead of feeling bad about it, you can say, when one door closes another one opens. If you’re in a relationship and you man/lady leaves you; instead of crying, just say, another one is coming, if you received a bad medical report, simply say, another good report is coming.
In the journey of life, we have two voices vying for our attention – faith and defeat. If you listen attentively to the inner still voice, you’ll hear voices of faith saying, you are well able. If you are looking for the fruit of the womb, be optimistic and know that your time is coming. You can even say God/my creator is teaching me patience.
You can speak life into your words by writing down your goals, read it out daily, and speak it. You can say, I am strong, I’m full of energy, I’m passionate, I’m valuable, I’m successful, my future is bright, my children are blessed etc. These are great words with transformational power.
Today, I charge you to not only speak life into your life, family and business, take the words further by living your words in such a way they become aligned with your actions. It is by so doing, you’ll be able to reap the fruit of you labour.
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 henrous@gmail.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.
