Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has asked the new Commissioner of Police in Oyo, CP Ngozi Onadeko, to arrest and treat those igniting ethnic tension in the state as criminals.

Makinde said this on Friday when Onadeko paid him a courtesy visit at the Governor’s Office, Agodi, Secretariat, Ibadan.

He spoke against rising tension in the state
by the ultimatum given by self-acclaimed leader of Yoruba freedom agitators, Sunday Igboho, to people of Fulani ethnic stock to vacate the Ibarapa area of the State.

Makinde said that attempt to fuel security tension under any guise that would threaten the corporate vision of Nigeria would not be tolerated by his administration.

He said that his government was not against any ethic group, but was determined to flushing out criminal elements anywhere in the state.

He stressed that the Hausa/Fulani ethnic group residing in the state was not his government’s target, but hoodlums, bandits, irrespective of their tribes and religion.

“For people stoking ethnic tension, they are criminals and once you get them they should be arrested and treated like common criminals.

“For this administration, the major pillar for us is security because we know that all the good things we want to do economically won’t be possible in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.

“So, when people say things that are not lawful and within the spirit of Nigeria’s constitution, it is not acceptable here.

“And they cannot hide under being people protecting Yoruba interest to perpetrate chaos in the state,” he said in a veiled reference to the quit order on the Fulani issued by Igboho.

Makinde reiterated that security remained one of the pillars of his administration, noting that all the good policies of his administration could not be actualised in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.

He promised to give maximum support to the Nigerian Police and other security agencies to ensure safety of lives, property and economic prosperity of the state.

Makinde called for more synergy between the police and the Western Nigeria Security Network, code-named Amotekun.

He noted that those who demonised Amotekun were the ones issuing ultimatum to certain ethnic nationalities to vacate the state.

The governor welcomed the new police boss and assured the CP of his support in tackling insecurity in the state.

“We won’t make the job difficult. We will be sincere, open and support you,” he added.

In her remark, Onadeko, pledged to make lives and property of residents of the state safe and secure saying that visibility policing had started in earnest.

She assured the governor that men and officers of the command would display high level of professionalism and that corruption would be shunned, with the view to achieving common goal.

“I’m here to formally tell you that I have assumed duty, we promise to make the lives and property of the people of Oyo State safe and secure.

“Since I came in, we have started with our visibility policing. When I came in, I noticed that there were no policemen on the road, maybe it was still the aftermath of the EndSARS issue, but we have been able to draft them back.

“We have asked them to occupy their space because it is their constitutional duty. We have to nip crime to hit the barest minimum in Oyo state.

“We are going to be professional about our work, shun corruption, synergise and work with other sister agencies.

“We are all working toward one particular goal, that is, to make sure that Oyo State is safe and secure,” the CP said.

Onadeko further pleaded with the governor to assist the command with operational vehicles.

By Henry Ukazu

Greetings Destiny Friends,

One of life’s most misconstrued concepts is destiny. If you ask a thousand and one persons what destiny is, they will give you a thousand and one definitions based on their understanding. Some might relate it to the spiritual, some might define it from the educational perspective, while other schools of thought might see it from an inspirational or motivational perspective. For the purpose of this article, I shall focus on the transformational perspective.

No doubt destiny means many things to many people. The question we should be asking ourselves is how we can design our destiny? To a reasonable extent, we can design our destiny because we have the power of choice to decide our fate. For instance, one thing is certain in life, and that is we must all make a choice either directly or indirectly. Your choice will definitely define you; if you make the right choice, you will excel, but if you make the wrong choice, you will pay for it. However, paying for it doesn’t make one a failure because you can still turn your failures into a friend, and thereafter unleash your potentials.

As human beings, we are always torn about how we can succeed. Some of us imitate other people, some see success in education, some see true success in talents, gifts, or even skill, while many others see success as financial stability. All these schools of thought are right depending on the the lens of a particular viewer. However, one fact is certain, a true and authentic success must be planned, and that success is the definition you give to yourself to achieve “authentic fulfillment” as opposed to the one the world expects from you. Regardless of how you might look at it, if you are not prepared for success, you’ll lose when it arrives. Even God in his infinite knowledge encourages us in Proverbs 4:13 thus: “Your education is your life, guard it very well’. This literally means you need to continually improve yourself.

Genuine success is not only about taking first, but the bigger picture is maintaining the first position. In our contemporary society, sometimes, we look to other people for our success without knowing that success lies inside of us. For instance, instead of looking for a job, look internally to discover your talent/gift. Instead of looking for a soulmate to love you, how about you practicing self-love which can attract your authentic love. Instead of reading different materials to understand how human beings reason, you can look internally to know what’s unique about you by reaching out to your creator to know the purpose he designed you.

I have always shared this story; if you want to know how Facebook works, you need to ask Mark Zuckerberg who is the founder. If you want to know how Microsoft works, you need to ask Bill Gate who is the founder, if you want to know how a product works, you also have to look at the manual to decipher the functions. In the same way, if you want to know your purpose you have to ask your creator. It is quite unfortunate that many of us settle for less, while some consider other secondary ways like settling for a job that’s not meant for them just because it pays the bills. Some even identify with human beings they are not compatible with just because they want to get married, get loans, get a political appointment etc.

This set of people fail to understand there’s more to life than vested interest and that it is only when they work on their authentic purposes that they will realize how far they can go in life.

It is on this note I wish to inform my tribe that I will be organizing Design Your Destiny Masterclass, which will be focused on helping progressive minds to unleash their potentials. The two-day Masterclass will run from January 31 through to February 1 via Zoom. The whole idea is to help adults who need clarity, self-discovery, and transformation in both their personal and professional lives.

The Masterclass will position every attendee towards re-evaluating his life, business, friendship, family, and perception to life. Discovering one’s purpose can be hard, but with the right tools and guidance, you can unravel it. Some people discovered their purpose with mentors, some through meditation, and others through making themselves available by being vulnerable.

The Masterclass will also focus on helping you to know what’s unique about you; it will guide you on how to make the right choices, and how to use meditation to discover your true being in addition to attracting opportunities by practicing gratitude and appreciation. This is a must-attend Masterclass. If you love yourself or know anyone that will benefit from this program, please do them a favour by either paying for them to attend or recommending the Masterclass to them. The fees are very affordable. For details about the payment, please see Design Your Destiny Masterclass. If you have any questions, please send an email to info@gloemi.com.

According to Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself, everyone is taken” As human beings, we are all unique and endowed with different gifts. Your gifts will announce you before kings, queens, and captains of industries if you use them very well. Your gifts have been resourced for value because humanity needs your talent. In Designing your destiny, it’s important to ask yourself critical questions, such as why some people stress and work hard to succeed while others merely network in a smart way. Everyone is different, therefore your ability to know the thin line where destiny, wisdom, and intuition cross, will make you understand that our destiny is literally in our hands because regardless of what anyone says or do to us, we are responsible for either accepting, rejecting and or reacting to it.

In conclusion, I urge you to take some time to ask yourself some salient questions by way of soul searching to know more about yourself. If you will like to know more about how you can Design Your Destiny, you can read my book: Design Your Destiny- Actualizing Your Birthright to Success.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and transformational coach. 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

Rotary Club of Ikeja, District 9110 , Lagos , Nigeria is teaming up with Emmaus Rotary Club, District 7430, Pennsylvania, USA and the Mediators Beyond Borders International, (MBBI) to organize the MBBI  International Peace  Training Institute  (MBBI- IPTI) in Lagos, Nigeria.

The training will involve 30 women- participants in peace building, conflict prevention and transformation skills to serve as peacebuilders in their own communities in some countries in West Africa.

According to a statement signed by the President of Rotary Club of Ikeja, Rotarian Dotun Lampejo, the training session which is themed, ‘Women in Peacebuilding: Enhancing Skills and Practice’, the participants for the two-week training are drawn from the host country, Nigeria as well as Sierra Leone, Ghana , Liberia and Cameroon and it would run between January 25th till February, 5th, 2021.

Rotarian Lampejo added that the training which would be virtual would help the women to learn with other peace builders from West Africa, develop their skills in restorative practices, mediation, trauma-informed conflict resolution, leadership and group facilitation as well as help them to connect with organizational and political leaders.

According to Lampejo, ‘’Our objective during the Peace and Conflict Resolution Month is to help build vibrant and more inclusive societies and we know that, that can only be possible in a society devoid of crisis. We are therefore collaborating with the Emmaus Rotary Club to organize the Rotary-MBBI International Peace Training Institute to make this possible.’’

While lending his voice, the Rotary Foundation Director of Emmaus Rotary  Club, Jim Palmquist said the club joined forces with Rotary Club of Ikeja to organise the Peacebuilding training session to make the world a more peaceful one.

Palmquist added that, ‘’Clearly the whole world desperately needs many more peacebuilders.  I believe we are building the experience within Rotary to spread peacebuilding skills and successes everywhere.  I see Rotary becoming one of the premier peace building NGOs.  Though Rotary has been leading in peace work since its beginning, we are going to expand its peace-making markedly and bring peace to the world.’’

While commenting on the choice of women as participants, the Managing Director of MBBI, Prabha Sankaranaraan said that, ” When you ask people about mediators people know, often the names mentioned are recognized globally and usually men. And yet some of the most complicated agreements in the world such as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, or the Philippines Peace process have had women at the center of the process.

‘The reality is that  women comprise only 2% of mediators of armed conflict in the whole world.

” The participation of civil society groups, including women’s organizations, makes a peace agreement 64% less likely to fail.

” When women participate in peace processes, the resulting agreement is 35% more likely to last at least 15 years. Higher levels of gender equality are associated with a lower propensity for conflict, both between and within states. All this points to the clear need for increasing the capacity of women.’’