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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
Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.
The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.
Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.
She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.
“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.
“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”
The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.
She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.
“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.
“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.
“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.
“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to stay the execution of the judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The Commission also threw its weight behind a notice of appeal lodged by the political parties.
Addressing a three-member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, the electoral body said it was shocked by the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to deliver the judgment despite an order that stopped him from doing so.
INEC, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Haliru Mohammed, decried that it was not notified that the judgment would be delivered, saying it only heard about the court’s decision through media reports.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment.”
Likewise, counsel to the ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa, SAN, told the appellate court that Justice Lifu notified the party of the delivery of the judgment via WhatsApp.
Insisting that the decision of the high court was an invitation to anarchy, counsel to the ADC urged the appellate court to invoke its powers and sanction Justice Lifu for disrespecting the judicial hierarchy.
“Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the judiciary and this profession. What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court.
“The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay,” ADC’s lawyer submitted.
The other parties also drew the attention of the appellate court panel to the fact that on June 20, INEC would conduct by-elections across six states of the federation.
They contended that if the judgment were not stayed, it would create problems across the country, maintaining that the Court of Appeal has inherent powers to act in a supervisory capacity and not allow its orders to be disregarded by lower courts.
The appellate court is still hearing submissions from the other parties in the matter.
It will be recalled that aside from the ADC, the other parties the high court directed INEC to deregister are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
According to the court, the five political parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements to warrant their continued existence and participation in future elections.
It barred INEC from further according recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.
Moreover, Justice Lifu ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in the country.
He held that there was merit in a suit filed against them by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).
The group, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.
It was the position of the plaintiff that the five political parties listed as defendants had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.
The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.
They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.
