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Food for Living: Listen to the Voice of Your Conscience
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
I wish to begin this article by wishing everyone a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Today being the 25th day of December is 2020 is an opportunity and day to be happy. As widely proclaimed, it is the assumed date Jesus Christ was born. One of the greatest lessons Jesus Christ taught us is to have a clear conscience, and he admonishes that if only we can have a clear conscience, we’ll never be found wanting.
The purpose of this article is not to preach religion, but to use conscience to direct, inform and enlighten us on how our life can be transformed.
We all have a conscience which speaks to us in different capacities. Our conscience is regarded as gatekeepers to our life. It is rather unfortunate that some minds are devoid of conscience. Conscience works in several ways. According to the book of life, “The Lord gave us mind and conscience; we cannot hide from ourselves. You can lie to others, but you can never lie to yourself. Doing so will be tantamount to an act of disservice.
As mentioned above, conscience works in several ways, it can act like an alarm signifying danger; it can act as a guidepost giving you direction and it can serve as the self-discovery coach telling you who you are and what you can do. A rational mind with the right conscience does not need to be afraid in life. They can stand alone. They don’t care about the bank wagon.
To unravel the mystery of life, your must work with your conscience. To ensure your conscience is working well, before you make any decision, make sure you are at peace with your mind. If your friends, family and the world neglect you, but your conscience is intact, you are a winner because your conscience can never deceive you. Your conscience is regarded as the compass of your soul. Martin Luther King Jr., said, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
According to Abraham Lincoln, When my presidency is over, I may not have any other friends, but I’ll have one friend inside of me – my conscience. This simply tells you, the greatest friend and companion a living person can have is their conscience. This is because if the world is singing your praises and you join without understanding the dynamics of politics that is at play, you might lose out, but if your family is with you, you are good to go. When your conscience leaves you, you are as good as a living corpse. “Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.”
As human beings, there are many things battling for our attention. It could a search for a soulmate, travelling, starting a business, deciding or embarking on a journey; amid all these life experiences, we have our intuitive spirits speaking to us. This act of intuition can be regarded as your conscience. When we fail to listen to our conscience, we are bound to make mistakes
The conscience is a walking spirit, you don’t see it, but you feel the presence around you. Conscience plays many roles in human life. Frederick Lewis Donaldson in Westminster Abbey, London, spoke about “The Seven Social Sins, namely:
Wealth without work.
Pleasure without conscience.
Knowledge without character.
Commerce without morality.
Science without humanity.
Worship without sacrifice.
and Politics without principle
Amongst all these seven social skills, one thing is certain; you can feel empathy and conscience at work. It is a well acknowledged fact. In life, if you don’t work, you don’t deserve to eat. It will be inhuman to deprive people who work for their wages; having illicit pleasure or fun without considering their value and neglecting one’s responsibility can be regarded as stupidity; having knowledge without sound character is like giving a pig a diamond or jewel to wear. This is because the beauty of knowledge comes with character. Any scientific development which doesn’t take into consideration humanity will not be embraced by the world, especially when the negatives are more than the positives.
Moral: There must be a balance. As a Christian, your worship must come with sacrifice in order for it to be attracted and finally but not the least, any politics without principle is likened to lack of ideology.
In all, it was a good experience. According to H. L. Mencheken “Through our individual conscience, we become aware of our deeply held moral principles, we are motivated to act upon them, and we assess our character, our behavior and ultimately ourselves against those principles
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.
Governor Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.
“That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer said at exactly 2:30 pm at the INEC collation centre in Akure.
The declaration came hours after the collation of results for the election began in the early hours of Sunday. Although the collation centre went on breaks, the APC took a commanding lead with over 200,000 votes ahead of the PDP.
The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There is no gainsaying the fact that everyone desirous of making impact in life must live a life of purpose. This is where knowledge and information come to play. It is these knowledge and information that will set an individual apart from his contemporaries.
I strongly believe, if one is not informed, they are ill-informed, and when they are ill-informed, they can’t perform well in any given endeavour. This is because information leads to reformation and transformation. We can therefore, confidently say that information leads to formation because everyone is a product of what they know.
Knowledge acquisition is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. People with knowledge are revered, and highly respected. Having knowledge is like having money. People from all walks of life will seek you.
There are different kinds of knowledge, and they include Revealed Knowledge, which comes from those who wrote the Bible and Intuitive Knowledge, which comes from the mind. It is the ability to gain knowledge without conscious reason or explanation.
Others are Empirical Knowledge, which is information gained through observation, experimentation, and direct experience, rather than through theoretical reason or intuition; Authoritative Knowledge, which is the knowledge a man has because of his expertise in a particular field; and finally but not the least, Rational Knowledge, which is a form of knowledge that uses reasoning and philosophy to understand the world.
From this illustration, a decisive mind can see that knowledge is priceless. Knowledge is like education. It can provide security and access. Even the Book of life says in Proverbs 4:13, “your education is your life, guard it very well”; and in Hosea 4:6 that “my people perish for lack of knowledge”.
From my personal experience in life, apart from death, one of the greatest levelers of all time is education. This is because the child of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated. That explains why children from humble backgrounds ought to take their education very seriously, especially if they don’t have affluence.
On a personal note, I come from a very humble background, my late parents didn’t have the opportunity of acquiring a decent education, but they knew the value of education and endeavored to give me and my siblings a decent education. In retrospect, when I look back and see some of my contemporaries whose parents couldn’t give them a decent education, I bless my late parents because education has exposed me to lots of opportunities in the United States, and the global world in addition to granting me an audience with the high and mighty in society.
Sometimes, when I look at my modest achievement, I’m deeply humbled because I know it is the grace of God. Who am I to author two amazing trailblazers’ books, get featured and profiled by the New York Times, engage in high level conversation with leaders of thought and captains of industries. Apart from the grace of God, intentional seeking of knowledge, and wise counsel from mentors and strategically positioning myself have been some of the cornerstone to my success.
Imagine if my late parents didn’t give me a decent education and opportunity of travelling to the United States, most of these opportunities and exposure wouldn’t have been readily available.
When one is decently enlightened, educated and informed about life, their level of reasoning and understanding differ from an ordinary man. If one desires to go far in life, one must seek knowledge.
It is your knowledge that sets you apart from others.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, an accomplished Ghostwriter, “If you are a man of great knowledge, people will have great respect for you. If you are a man of great wisdom, people will have great reverence for you. And if you are a man of both, great knowledge and great wisdom, you will be the most eminent of men. But in real terms, people don’t care how much you know, or how much wisdom you have, unless they know how much you care.”
The moral of this quote is that despite the knowledge and information at one’s disposal, if one lacks empathy, their knowledge, experience and whatever they have mean nothing.
The importance of knowledge cannot be overemphasized. In our contemporary society, a fast way of attracting opportunities is by showcasing the knowledge at one’s disposal. It is so sad that many people don’t take time to read, research and learn new trends applicable in their industry, and in the world generally and as such, they find it difficult to fit in and grow.
It is instructive to note that when you seek knowledge, opportunities will seek for you. A major reason people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems and to solve problems, one ought to have understanding. Do you know that if you don’t have money, the reason is often because you are not solving a problem, or you are not solving enough problems, or you are not solving the right problem or you are not solving problems for the right people. Generally, we make money because we have something unique to offer to the world. Therefore, to solve problems, one must have knowledge and information.
We currently live in an age of technological, where skills, talent and creativity are in high demand. Any progressive being that desires to go far must be intentional in seeking knowledge. Successful acquisition of knowledge, information and understanding can lead to discernment and wisdom.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, if you want to make an impact, seek opportunities, and earn more money, do yourself a favour by endeavoring to seek knowledge, wisdom, and information. You can’t get these by sitting on your sofa or staying in your comfort zone.
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 Your and Unleash Your Destiny. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House).
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced this in a statement, on Thursday.
A former aide of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Bwala worked actively for his former principal who lost to Tinubu.
However, after the elections, he worked his way into the camp of Tinubu, sparking controversy.
Onanuga also announced the appointments of three directors-general of various agencies.
They are:
(1) Mr. Olawale Olopade — Director-General, National Sports Commission
(2) Dr. Abisoye Fagade — Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism
(3) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun — Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement
Olopade, the new Director-General of the National Sports Commission, is a sports administrator with many years of experience in the sector.
He served as commissioner of youth and sports in Ogun state and was chairman of the local organising committee of the 2024 National Sports Festival.
The new Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional. He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.
Adedokun, the new helmsman of the Bureau of Public Procurement, was the director of Research/Training and Strategic Planning at the bureau before his appointment.
Daily Trust
