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Food for Living: Living Above the Challenges of Life
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By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Challenges are regular occurrences in human existence, and so it is commonplace for them to be experienced in the cause of day to day activities. A living being is therefore licensed to encounter one form of challenge or another. Of a truth, challenges come in different shapes and sizes. It can be big. It can be small. It can come in the guise of losing a loved one, having setbacks in business, relationship/marriage, academic, or professional endeavours. However, what is important is one’s ability to handle the challenge. It is imperative to note that inability to handle or manage a challenge can lead to overwhelming disaster in an individual’s personal, romantic or professional life.
Challenges mean different things to different people. Sometimes when uninformed minds experience challenges, they feel there is a force behind them. They fail to understand that nature may have a hand in it. There’s no doubt a force might be a reason someone might experience challenges, in that case, you need to sit down and evaluate what’s happening to you or if there’s something you are not doing well. For instance, if the law of Karma is at play, you are bound to face the music of life. It might take a little bit of time, but at the end of the day, you will dance to the music you once played.
However, great minds who think out of the box know that these challenges are preludes to greater heights, and as such, must be tested in the process of weathering the storm.
That said, the biggest challenge we can face as human beings is ourselves. Nobody can challenge you to be a better person than yourself. I strongly believe that one of the biggest challenges of life is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you be like everyone else. As human beings, there are so many things seeking our attention, some can be a distraction. Your ability to navigate these challenges can be the defining factor of your life.
It is important to note that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity for growth. Imagine contesting for the President of a country, what kind of challenges do you think you will face? Imagine winning the election, and the kind of opportunity and social capital that comes with it. It is strongly advisable to challenge yourself every day to do better than yesterday. It is the best form of challenge and competition you’ll ever face as a human being.
Let’s discuss some of the challenges we face as human beings.
Family:
The biggest challenge anyone can face in life is in the family. Whether you live in a nuclear or extended family, you are bound to experience challenges. Every family has a secret and every family plays what I call internal politics just like the church. In fact, according to some schools of thought, the highest politics is played in the family and in the church. Nobody knows you more than your family, that’s why when your family supports you, you already have fifty percent of the foundation you need to succeed in life. But when your family is against you, even your benefactors will distance themselves from you. Any way you look at it, the moral support of family is endearing and soothing to the heart.
Speaking on family, it’s only your family that knows most of the intricate secrets of your life, that’s why in politics, most people try to check out your background, your family, etc. to get information which they might use against you.
Setbacks:
Setbacks come in various forms. It can be in your business, loss of a loved one, failing an examination, or even health challenges. All these challenges either make you strong or make you learn. A good way of handling setbacks and the corresponding challenges is by having a positive attitude towards life, by this I mean, as you journey towards life always prepare for the best while expecting the best. If you have this mindset, you’ll be better poised to accept any negative challenges that come to you in good faith.
Relationship/Marriage: This is where the true test of a human being is displayed especially in marriage. In a relationship, you are merely courting to know someone to see if both of you are compatible enough to marry. In a relationship, each party can hide their real personality and character, but in marriage, there’s a limit to what you can hide. That’s why one of the best ways to succeed in marriage is to be vulnerable to your partner. Every relationship/marriage must be tested in one way or the other, but the prayer of every progressive relationship/marriage is to be strong enough to overcome any challenge that may rear its ugly head. Challenges such as financial, communication, sex, expectations, infidelity, conflicts, abuse, etc. will surely come in one way or the other.
Let’s take the case study of communication. Do you know the majority of the challenges couples face that lead to divorce is because of communication problems? There’s nothing that can’t be solved if the parties are intentional and deliberate in talking about it. It is the inability of partners to understand each other by resolving the conflicts amicably that results in divorce. For instance, when people have a misunderstanding the right use of words like am sorry, please, thank you, etc. can go a long way to solve the problem. How does this play out? There can be no problem, there’s a problem and there can be problems when there’s no problem. This is because when two people have a misunderstanding over a big issue, how they will handle it will appear insignificant, but if it’s a small problem, how they will handle it can escalate it to a bigger problem.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, always have the attitude of preparing for the best while expecting the worst. By so doing, you will be able to overcome any challenge with a positive mindset.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker. 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
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US Lawmaker Weeps over Brutal Killing of Christians in Plateau
A United States representative, Anna Paulina Luna, has raised the alarm over what she described as the incessant attacks and killings of Christians across different communities in Plateau State by Fulani ethnic militia terrorists and Islamist extremists.
The US lawmaker, who made the allegations in a statement shared on her verified X account on Friday, accused both the state and the federal governments of not doing enough to protect Christians in the state from the regular attacks they suffer when the terrorists descend on the communities.
In a post titled, “What is happening in Nigeria right now?”, the US lawmaker lamented that thousands of Christians in Plateau were facing a mortal threat while security forces had struggled to contain the situation.
“Hundreds of Fulani ethnic militia terrorists descended on Christian communities across Plateau State.
“Thousands of civilians are under mortal threat while the Nigerian Army and security forces struggle to hold the line,” Luna wrote.
According to her, the attacks were preceded by a series of violent incidents targeting Christians and other civilians in the affected communities.
Giving some specifics, Paulina said a pastor and his church secretary were shot dead while they were on their way to church in the days leading up to the latest attacks, while five Christians were attacked in another incident while travelling in a vehicle.
“A pastor and his church secretary were shot dead on their way to church. Five Christians were ambushed in their car.
“A civilian guard was killed outside his own home. A man and his son were beaten and left in critical condition,” the lawmaker said.
The US representative also alleged that security agencies had never taken warnings and security alerts issued before the attacks seriously, questioning why they had not been followed.
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Food for Living: Pursue Passion More Than Profit (Pt. 2)
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Last week, we began discussing a grey and near-controversial topic, “pursue passion more than profit”. The topic cannot be exhaustive. Depending on who one is speaking to, different answers and understanding will be received because different things work for different people, and as they say, ‘different strokes for different people’.
It I worthy of note that a family man who is passionate about teaching or working in the non-profit space will be tempted to engage in business to feed his family. But someone with a stable financial background can afford to follow his passion and work as a teacher or in the non-profit space where the pay is not lucrative.
From a practical perspective, I currently work for the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. This is an agency that pays a good salary to the uniformed officers after they work for 51/2 years. In addition to the money they receive, there are countless hours of overtime, which doubles their income depending on how many hours they work. Some call it blood money because they can hardly get the same money in other institutions.
Why am I sharing this information? According to most of the officers; they basically work in the agency because of the money. Most of the officers are of the opinion that they can hardly make such money working in other private or public enterprises. The majority of these officers are not passionate about the job; they are just there to take care of their pressing bills. Some of them even have a timeline: they can work and then resign to start up their business or work in their areas of interest. This goes to tell you that they are trading their passion for profit, which is kind of work if looked at from a particular point of view, but then they are trading their joy and peace.
Let me share another example. In Nigeria, a popular artist, David Adeleke, aka Davido, is one man who followed his passion. This young man came from a wealthy background. He literally left generational wealth to sing. Many thought he was crazy. Davido’s father, billionaire businessman Adedeji Adeleke, initially opposed his music career, but he eventually became fully supportive. Davido’s father went as far as having police shut down shows or arresting people involved when Davido left school in the US to pursue music in Nigeria. Due to his passion for singing, Davido had to fund his early career secretly and rebel against his family’s wishes before breaking through.
Once Davido achieved massive success and proved he could be successful in the industry, his father accepted his path and gave him his blessing. Davido once stated that despite making his own fortune, his billionaire father still surprises him with huge financial gifts, such as wiring him $300,000 after a major performance at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
I doubt that Davido would have become this famous if he didn’t follow his passion. Davido can be described as a man whose passion is stronger than power.
I had to share these two perspectives to give clarity on the relativity of passion and profit.
Let’s analyze the concept of passion and profit. If I may ask you, what is passion? What is profit? And what does passion and profit mean to you? According to Cambridge University, passion was defined as a very strong feeling, emotion, or deep enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause. For example, someone can have a strong emotion or a powerful state of feeling like intense love, excitement, anger, or hatred for something or somebody.
Passion can also be a deep interest or hobby which gives someone a strong liking or enthusiasm for an activity, such as cooking, music, or sports. In romantic cases, it can be a romantic or sexual desire: An intense physical or emotional attraction toward someone. In the spiritual context, it can be understood as the Sufferings of Jesus: Historically and in a religious context, it refers to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ between the Last Supper and the crucifixion (the Passion of Christ).
Profit, on the other hand, is the financial gain that remains when total revenue from an activity or business exceeds the total expenses and costs incurred, according to Investopedia. There are different types of profit:
- Gross Profit: Revenue minus the direct cost of producing goods or services (COGS).
- Operating Profit: Gross profit minus day-to-day operating expenses, excluding interest and taxes.
- Net Profit: The final “bottom line” earnings left after all expenses, taxes, and interest are deducted.
Having given an overview of what passion and profit entail, let’s take a minute to understand the thin line between passion and profit. Just like authority is respected more than power, passion has more influence and is generally respected more than profit. No doubt, it’s good to make a profit in business, but in this context, I am referring to the human resource space or human capacity development
On the surface, people may respect someone for the money one has, but they will value a person who is more passionate about a cause than one who has money but does not believe in the message they are preaching. There’s a saying: human beings are more than money. Just like, it’s better to have a good name than to have money.
People generally follow a leader or someone who they can relate to rather than someone who gives them money but is careless about their feelings. One message I heard countless times from one of my revered mentors regarding my career was to pursue passion over profits. According to him, passion is stronger than power. He likened passion to a scenario where a woman loves a man who has less money compared to a man who has money but does not have the values and vision she represents. According to these sets of ladies, money is good, but love conquers everything because if tomorrow the money travels, the marriage is bound to hit a rock, compared to a scene where a lady loves a man for who he is and what he represents. Even when the money is out, the friendship will still thrive.
According to the opposing schools of thought, while passion is good, it is they also believe that hard work beats talent, especially when talent is not put to good use. So, even if one is passionate about a cause or has a talent that is yet to be developed, if one does not intentionally develop it, it will lie fallow. So, invariably, even if one is passionate about a cause, if they don’t have the strength to work on their passion, it’s advisable for them to focus on making money.
Here is my opinion: even though I subscribe to the position of focusing on or working for passion rather than for money, one must apply wisdom in navigating this tough terrain. One can decide to work for money and gather enough money to fund their passion because, at the end of the day, we all want to be happy, because happiness and fulfilment mean everything
In summary, while it is good to do what works for one and what is readily available, it’s imperatively important for one to strive for excellence and perfection, which can be found in passion.
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- Actualizing Your Birthright to Success, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Success . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
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Police Detain Inspector over Ethnic Slur Against Igbo, Peter Obi
The Lagos State Police Command has commenced disciplinary action against an inspector following a viral video in which he was seen making disparaging ethnic remarks while travelling in a public vehicle.
The officer, identified as Inspector Osumah Frank, made what the Command described as “careless, inappropriate and uncultured remarks,” according to a statement issued on Friday, September 25, 2026, and signed by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi.
In the video, Frank, who was in police uniform, was heard making remarks about Igbo people and discussing the political ambitions of a former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi. He also made comments involving President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The inspector was further heard suggesting that police officers could collect money to frustrate a political candidate’s chances of succeeding.
Reacting to the video, the Command said the officer’s remarks were made in his personal capacity and did not represent the position or views of either the Lagos State Police Command or the Nigeria Police Force.
“The Command has commenced appropriate disciplinary action against the officer in line with established regulations of the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement said.
“It also wishes to make it clear that the statements made by the officer were made in his personal capacity and do not represent the position, views or official disposition of the Lagos State Police Command or the Nigeria Police Force,” it added.
The Commissioner of Police (CP) Tijani Fatai, said police personnel are required to maintain professionalism and respect for members of the public at all times.
“All personnel are expected to maintain professionalism, civility, discipline and respect for members of the public at all times,” the statement quoted Fatai as saying.
He said wearing the police uniform came with a responsibility to uphold the dignity and integrity of the Force, adding that the Command would not condone any conduct capable of bringing the police into disrepute or undermining public confidence in the Force.
The Command reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability and “policing with humility and integrity.”
The video, which circulated widely on social media from around September 23, had drawn criticism over the officer’s remarks, particularly those concerning Igbo people and his comments about police officers collecting money to frustrate a political candidate.
The police did not state the specific disciplinary measures being taken against Frank.






