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Food for Living: Keep Working on Yourself
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
“Your next level requires transformation” – Germany Kent
I believe it will be in order if I say compliments of the season. The year is gradually coming to an end, and it is imperatively important we take time to examine how we fared in 2022. Though we have less than two weeks to wrap up the year, I strongly believe we can still make great impacts in our personal and professional lives.
While some businesses are winding up, some businesses are still sending proposals, working on already existing proposals, and exploring opportunities. Regardless of the setbacks, challenges and rejections you may have after investing time and money in a project, it’s instructive to note that, in the journey of life, you must not give up hope until you give up the ghost. If you feel like giving up hope, imagine a soccer match or basketball competition. Any team can spring up surprises until the final whistle is blown. What is the interesting thing about this analysis? In life you must work on yourself if you desire to see any progress.
Working on yourself means different things to different people. As a health expert, it can be eating healthy and staying hydrated. It also requires quitting bad habits such as smoking and/or drinking. As a student, it requires you going the extra mile by reading, researching, sleeping late and waking up a little bit early. As an entrepreneur, it requires thinking out of the box. As a professional, it requires taking professional and certification courses.
As an individual, the best thing you can do for yourself is to work on yourself. Working on yourself could be learning a new skill, getting education, and adding value to yourself. One of the best things that can happen to any progressive being is to work on himself. Couple of years ago, I discovered the benefit of working on myself. Having studied the lifestyle of successful people, I discovered that when you work on yourself, the opportunities that will come to you will be priceless. For instance, when I began to create content online with my articles, books, videos, quotes, workshops, etc., via social media, I discovered my social currency began to increase.
It is instructive to note that it is better to work harder on yourself than to work harder on your job. This is because when you work on yourself, you are invariably working on your job because you are adding value to yourself. Don’t get it twisted, working harder on your job is good because it might be paying the bill. But the point I want to emphasize is that when you work on your job, you earn a living, but when you work on yourself, you earn a fortune.
Most people think life revolves around their job. Nor matter how much you are paid on a job; it can’t be as satisfying as the reward you’ll get when you innovate a product. To work on yourself, after your day’s job, go back home and ask yourself, what can I do to increase my income, market value, investment, etc. When you answer that question, you will begin to learn new skills, it could be a language, develop a product, business, service or even networking with resourceful minds. All things help to add value to your life, and it will in turn increase your value.
When you add value to your life, it will attract people to you and when people are attracted to your value, they will appreciate you by paying you for the problem you are solving or the service you are providing. It is pertinent to note that one of the most motivating values in the world is progress. You can only progress when you work on yourself by adding value to your life. It is worthy of note that people will only pay you for the value they perceive of you and the value you present to them.
According to Dr. Lucas D. Shallua, “You influence others better by working on yourselves to grow and add your own value; others will see what you have become and be attracted by what they see and observe.”
Working on yourself requires a lot of sacrifice. It will require you to eliminate what is working and what is not working. To add value to your life, you must endeavor to learn something new everyday, week, or month. It could be cooking, taking an online class, or even seeking mentors.
The benefits of working on yourself are priceless. It will increase your value at the workplace; it will enhance your personal growth and relationship. To do this, you must surround yourself with people who want to see you do well.
In conclusion, endeavor to add value to yourself if you desire to go far in life.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer. 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
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced four terrorists to death by hanging for carrying out the June 5, 2022 deadly attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The convicts were among the five accused persons who had been standing trial on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), in connection with the attack at the church where over 40 worshippers were killed, and over 100 suffered varying degrees of injury.
They are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25).
The fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), was discharged and acquitted.
In his verdict, Justice Nwite convicted the four defendants on all nine counts of committing acts of terrorism in breach of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, citing crimes including membership of a proscribed terrorist group — Al-Shabab (an ISWAP affiliate), conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, and kidnapping, hostage-taking and killing the over 40 worshippers.
He held that the prosecution proved its case against the convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
Nwite, however, held that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the fifth defendant.
Scores of people were killed, and many were injured when gunmen opened fire on worshippers at the Catholic Church in the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation, with various individuals and groups calling on the government to ensure the assailants were arrested and brought to justice.
The DSS had called witnesses to establish the allegations against the defendants in the trial that began on August 1, 2025.
The trial court admitted the confessional statements of the defendants following the conclusion of the trial- within-trial conducted to establish that the witnesses’ statements were voluntarily given.
One of the five accused persons, Omeiza, had told the court how he was arrested by the secret police.
Opening his defence, he was led in evidence in an accelerated hearing conducted at the instance of the DSS, by his lawyer, Abdullahi Muhammad.
Although Omeiza claimed to be an auxiliary nurse, he chose to narrate his testimony in Ebira, prompting the court to seek an interpreter.
He told the court that he was arrested on August 1, 2022, alongside two other young boys named Hauwa and Yusuf, in the same house.
In his lengthy testimony, the defendant told the court that it was at the DSS facility in Lokoja, the state capital, that he met the fifth defendant, Abubakar, who had also been arrested by operatives of the secret police.
At the DSS office in Lokoja, Omeiza had explained that the four of them were kept in a room where information in respect of their names, schools attended, their work, and their father’s name was obtained and recorded.
He had said the following day, he volunteered a statement and was in detention till August 18, 2022, when he got to know that his elder brother was also arrested.
Omeiza had also claimed he was detained alongside his elder brother in the same room where interrogators questioned them about the attack on the Owo Catholic Church.
In his final submission, counsel for the prosecution, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), had urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum sentence of death in view of the enormity of the crime they allegedly committed.
Adedipe had argued that the prosecution painstakingly established its case against the defendants through compelling evidence and detailed investigations, which he said reflected the determination of security agencies to ensure accountability for one of the deadliest attacks on innocent worshippers in Nigerian history.
But counsel for the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, prayed the court to discharge and acquit his clients on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to establish its case against them.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that one of its staff members with legitimate access to its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database is now at the centre of an investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of a voter record belonging to a candidate in a recent party primary in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
INEC confirmed the development on Tuesday in a statement by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, after allegations of a database compromise swept across social media and sections of the press.
According to the electoral umpire, the Department of State Services (DSS) has commenced a parallel probe into the breach.
The commission’s internal audit trail pointed squarely inward. “Preliminary findings from the Commission’s audit trail so far indicate that there was no external breach of the CVR database, no hacking incident, and no unauthorised external access to the Commission’s ICT infrastructure. Rather, the information in question was accessed through valid user credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise but released without authority,” Haruna stated.
Registration officers conducting the nationwide CVR exercise had been granted controlled access to specific components of the database for the limited purposes of registering new applicants, processing transfer requests, and updating voter records — access the commission described as strictly restricted to official duties and withdrawable at the close of the exercise.
INEC said the audit trail had enabled investigators to pinpoint the specific user account through which the record was retrieved.
Relevant personnel had since been questioned, and all units connected with the incident were cooperating with the investigation, said Haruna.
The commission added that it was examining every technical, administrative, and operational angle of the matter to establish individual responsibility and determine whether internal access-control protocols had been violated.
On the reach of the breach, the commission said only a single voter record had been accessed, and the personal data of over 90 million registered voters remained secure. The integrity of the broader voter registration infrastructure, it said, was not in question.
The DSS, INEC disclosed, has launched its own independent investigation without any prompting from the commission.
INEC said it would cooperate fully with the agency and all other relevant security bodies, and warned that anyone found culpable would be referred for prosecution.
It urged the public and the media to set aside speculation while investigations continue. The commission also pledged to publish its final findings and any measures taken in response to the incident once they are concluded.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It’s impossible for any mortal person to claim that he has not at one time or another felt envious. In other words, everyone somehow has wished they have something other people; friends, partners, siblings, colleagues or even family members, have. It is worthy of note that the Creator of heaven and earth designed the universe in such a way that everyone needs to depend on one another for survival. Nobody has it all.
While one person may be gifted in singing, another might be gifted in praying, healing, speaking or writing. Yet another might be gifted in playing soccer, while another might be gifted in sprinting, tennis, swimming, and more.
As a Human Capacity Development expert, I have come to realize that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. The mistake most people make is to chase what is not chasing them instead of focusing on developing themselves.
When you develop yourself, it will be easy for other people to appreciate and support you, but when you focus your energy on being jealous of what other people have, you deprive yourself of attracting blessings and opportunities to your life. As a Life coach, I always tell my tribe, major on your major and work on your weakness.
Envy is not only when one is jealous of what someone has, it also means greed when one is not satisfied with what one has. Isn’t it true that greed makes a rich man poor and contentment makes a rich man poor. It is important to note that you can’t attract what you hate. If you see anyone thriving, please if you can’t support them, please leave them the way you are instead of pulling them down.
One of the best ways to succeed in life is to know oneself. According to Socrates, “man know thyself”. When you understand who you are, you will understand what’s unique about you, and you won’t be concerned about the activities of others. The benefit of self-discovery is priceless. Self-discovery will help you to make the right choice, it will assist you to unleash your potential, and it will ultimately help you to be intentional with your life.
One of the reasons why envy is paramount is that we don’t practice gratitude and appreciation. Most often, we look towards what we lack instead of looking at what we have. There’s an adage that says, it is because the philosopher was too busy to get to the promised land that he forgot there’s a ditch in front of him and he fell inside. That’s the philosophy of envy.
It’s instructive to note that envy is not only deadly, but also “cancerous” because when it envelops someone, it blinds the person not to see the good in others. Envy, if not properly managed, can cause more than damage.
There was a story about two friends- John and Paul. John woke up one morning to a gleaming new model Toyota Camry in Paul’s garage. He went green with envy, and by the next day, he had the same brand of car in his own garage to prove a point. Unknown to John, he didn’t know that Paul’s car was a gift from his wealthy father-in-law. John on the other hand had to exhaust all his savings to buy his own car just to prove whatever point he had in mind.
At the end of the day, Paul was smiling well and living his best life, but John was experiencing financial challenges that threatened his marriage because of his pride and greed to prove a point. The moral of this message is to desist from competing with people, rather compete with oneself by being better than you were yesterday.
One good reason why envy and covetousness are such terrible afflictions is because what is right for others may not be right for you. If your motivation is to have what others have, your decisions will be targeted at the wrong or goal. Your goal must be self-geared and not to keep up with the neighbors.
It’s instructive to note that we are not on earth to impress anyone, except God. Yes, it’s good to impress our boss at work, our friends, family members, mentors, and benefactors, etc., it should be done with moderation. What is important is for one to know the intention behind whatever they are doing. This is because when you try to please man, you’ll fail, but when we try to do the right thing, everything will fall in place. According to Bill Cosby, I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone. Moral: Just do you and everyone will be fine because at the end of the day, those that care, don’t matter and those that matter don’t care.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, please avoid envy, run from it and be satisfied with what you have.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
