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Food for Living: Navigating the Success Terrain
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It is a widely held claim that success is a journey and not a destination. In truth, only complacent persons relax when they get to the promised land (success). When we talk of success, most people see the end product as opposed to the process and journey. Did you know that it is the process that makes success admirable? To understand how journey works, imagine solving a complex mathematical problem; it is the formula that enables you to arrive at the right answer.
Success is a journey, and is associated with many twists. One must navigate the storms and challenges that come with it. To understand success better, imagine the time and different ingredients a cook must have invested to prepare a delicious meal. When you wrongly add an ingredient, you are likely to get a different taste. That’s simply how success works. Again, imagine driving a car with “GPS” and you miss your route, your GPS is likely to take another route, that’s how success works. It takes a lot of twits.
The focus of this article is to encourage us to be strong in our pursuit of success. There will definitely be setbacks and challenges, but then, every traveller on the success route must know there is a price to pay. Personally, I always focus on the big picture, and by so doing, draws a lot of inspiration and energy to follow it through and win.
It should be noted that there is no single way to success. Your success might come from your network, strangers, family, academics, government, mentor, mentee, or even your enemy trying to pull you down. What is required is for you to recognize the opportunity that is presented to you and capitalize on it.
To navigate the terrain of success, you must first build and develop the success mindset. This enables you to learn and develop your talents and gifts as opposed to limiting your thought process through a fixed mindset.
A growth mindset enables you to have emotional intelligence which helps you to understand and reason with emotions without allowing sentiments to cloud your reasoning and understanding. Emotional intelligence makes you focus on other people by practicing empathy. It also enables you to explore other variables.
To navigate the terrain of success, first believe in yourself, then believe in your project/vision. This is the only way others can believe in you and your vision. Remove every doubt, and negative energy, and focus on the work at hand. Even when the journey is rough and seems impossible, always think about the big picture.
Another component one must bear in mind in the journey to success is courage. Not everyone will believe in your work, and that’s okay. You don’t need everyone to believe in your project, just the right people. It is like thinking everyone will like you. All you need is the right people to love you and you’ll be fine.
Curiosity is another great attribute for great minds to navigate the train of success. When you are curious to know why something is working and why it is not working, you are bound to explore other opportunities. When you are curious, you are likely to experiment new things by taking strategic and reasonable risks.
When you are curious, you will brainstorm on what is needed to generate ideas, engage in creative problem solving and learn through inquiry. When brainstorming is used for problem-solving in a team environment, it incorporates team members’ diverse experiences to increase the depth of the ideas being explored,
Brainstorming enables you to practice inquiry form of learning. It enables you to through the process of exploring the targeted issue by asking questions, making new discoveries, gaining a new sense of understanding, and fulfilling your own curiosities.
Other attributes needed to navigate the path of success are:
Competitiveness
Successful people are always competing with themselves as opposed to competing with other people. To navigate the terrain of success, you must nurture your project by focusing on how you can improvise your work when you face opposition.
Seek Out Mentors
To navigate the terrain of success you must ride with people who are more experienced than you. These people must have certain traits that have distinguished them. Study them to know what makes them tick. Ask them questions. Even if it means paying, please do. Read as much as you can about them. Research a lot about them to understand their thought process especially if they are relevant in your industry or what you’ll like to do.
Be Optimistic
This is one of the biggest qualities you will have as an individual. You just must be optimistic. If you lose all options never lose hope. Your optimism is capable of drawing people close to you. You can choose to be optimistic by practicing gratitude, patience, humility, and kindness and you also choose to be pessimistic; the choice is truly yours.
Check-In With Yourself Regularly
To increase your chances of success in life, you need to consistently monitor, evaluate, and adjust your approach, methods, and work on craft. This helps you to adjust to the realities of life.
Act
This is one of the most interesting aspects of navigating the terrain of success. Execution is very important in life. This is where most people fail, complain, and give excuses. One attribute that often separates successful people from unsuccessful people is simply taking action. Those who achieve success may not be smarter than those who don’t, but they make plan to act. Let me tell you, done is better than perfect when perfect is not done. Do you know that the value that you get from that first action will inspire you to continue on to the next project?
In summary, your success ultimately comes down to your actions, perceptions, and attitudes. There are a lot of tips out there on how to be successful in life, but unless you are proactive in doing the work that is required, you will find yourself settling for a life that wasn’t what you dreamed it to be. Having read this life-changing article, are you willing to take action? Are you confused? Do you need help in taking action? If yes, I can use assist you, kindly reach out with the email below.
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
The Federal High Court In Abuja on Tuesday ordered the remand of the Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of their bail application.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, also ordered the remand of his co-dedendants, his son, Abubakar Malami, and one of his wives Bashir Asabe.
Justice Nwite made the order after taking arguments from the defence team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN) and the prosecution counsel Ekele Iheneacho (SAN).
Malami and his co-defendants are facing a 16-count money laundering charge preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants conspired at various times to conceal, retain and disguise the proceeds of unlawful activities running into several billions of naira.
According to the charge, the alleged offences span several years and include the use of companies and bank accounts to launder funds, the retention of cash as collateral for loans, and the acquisition of high-value properties in Abuja, Kano and other locations.
The commission further alleges that some of the offences were committed while Malami was serving as Attorney-General of the Federation, in breach of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has sent a veiled message to Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, saying support for President Bola Tinubu alone will not guarantee any election ticket.
Wike made the statement on Sunday during a public outing in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
His remarks were widely seen as directed at Governor Fubara, amid lingering political crisis in the State.
The former Governor of Rivers State said political loyalty must be tested during difficult times, not after power has been secured.
He mocked those he described as late supporters of President Tinubu, insisting that sudden alignment would not earn political rewards.
He said: “So the issue is not whether you are supporting Tinubu. That one, we have taken too long, long… Yes, oh. So Tinubu’s issue is not an issue again. Yes. Do you understand me? Yes. Tinubu’s issue is that nobody should be coming here to tell a day. We are for Tinubu; I am against you. Who is for Tinubu University? (laughs) That cannot give you any ticket oh! (laughs again) Direct, direct. It will not. Direction. Direction.”
Wike stressed that his political camp stood with Tinubu when the decision was unpopular. He said that support given under pressure carries more weight than alignment after victory.
He also recalled how the Rivers State House of Assembly openly backed Tinubu early, long before the election outcome was certain.
According to him, some of those now making public declarations were absent during the critical period.
“The same people now who came to declare, put them to God… But they should declare they are saying it for a candidate. Yes. Don’t you see characters? (laughs) So I send the sword far ahead of them.”
Wike further spoke on governance and continuity. He defended projects and agreements initiated during his tenure as governor. He said it is often difficult for successors to acknowledge past efforts, even though government is a continuous process.
His comments come weeks after Governor Fubara formally aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party of President Tinubu.
The move followed months of political crisis in Rivers State, which led to federal intervention and a declaration of emergency rule.
Political watchers believe Wike’s remarks constitute a direct response to Fubara’s recent positioning as a key Tinubu ally in Rivers politics. Critics argue that Fubara’s support surfaced only after the political storm had settled.
Wike, who remains a dominant force in Rivers State politics despite serving in Abuja, appears to have drawn a clear line ahead of the 2027 elections.
He suggested that political tickets would be decided by proven loyalty, not convenience.
Videos from the event in Rumuche, Emohua, spread rapidly on social media. Many users described the speech as a coded warning to the governor.
As of press time, neither the Rivers State Government nor Wike’s media team had issued an official clarification.
The comments, however, suggest that the political rift between both camps is still active, despite earlier peace moves brokered at the national level.
The opposition African Democratic Congress and the Labour Party on Sunday criticized President Bola Tinubu for departing Nigeria for Europe on holiday at a time the country is grappling with rising insecurity, including foreign military interventions in the North.
The Presidency announced on Sunday that Tinubu left Lagos for Europe for his end-of-year holiday ahead of an official visit to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he is scheduled to attend the 2026 edition of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit.
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the trip was by invitation from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to participate in the summit, which gathers global leaders from government, business, and civil society to advance sustainable development strategies.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has invited President Tinubu to participate in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit, which will take place in the emirate early in January,” the statement read.
Reacting to Tinubu’s departure, the ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bola Abdullahi, faulted the timing as inappropriate given the security challenges facing the country.
The ADC noted the deadly terrorist bomb blast in Zamfara and the ongoing foreign military involvement, calling the President’s move insensitive.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s lack of care is alarming. In the wake of another deadly bomb blast in Zamfara, and following an unprecedented foreign military attack on Nigerian soil, the nation is waiting for reassurance from its leader. Instead, we learn the President has gone on holiday. What a President!” Abdullahi said.
Similarly, LP’s acting National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, described the trip as “insensitive and devoid of empathy” for Nigerians facing violent attacks and humanitarian crises.
Speaking through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, she stressed that the President should have remained in the country to coordinate security responses.
“This is the most inauspicious time for the President to leave the country. Even the Christmas holiday in Lagos seems ill-timed, given that a bomb exploded in Zamfara today, killing nine people,” Usman said.
She further alleged that Nigeria was under external attack and accused the government of downplaying the severity of the situation.
“Nigeria is under attack by a foreign nation. No matter how the government tries to frame this, it is a violation of our sovereignty. This is the time for the commander-in-chief to coordinate the response, not embark on a holiday,” Usman said.
She added that the President had not convened critical security meetings since the U.S.-led bombardment of terrorist camps in Kwara and Sokoto States and condemned the perceived lack of engagement with military leadership.
The President’s trip comes amid heightened security concerns. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump authorised AFRICOM to conduct airstrikes on terrorist camps in Sokoto State, hours before Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the operation. A deadly bomb blast in Zamfara on Friday claimed several lives.
The 17th edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will run from January 11 to 15 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre under the theme “The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go.”
The event aims to connect innovation, finance, and people to advance sustainable development.
Onanuga confirmed that Tinubu would return to Nigeria after the summit.
Hosted by Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy company, the summit will feature the invitation-only ADSW Summit, the World Future Energy Summit, the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony, and specialised sessions on hydrogen, climate finance, water security, and utilities in the Global South. Organisers expect more than 50,000 participants from over 170 countries, featuring over 700 global brands and exhibitions of emerging clean technologies.
The UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, noted that ADSW 2026 builds on two decades of the UAE’s leadership in renewable energy.
Tinubu previously attended the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2025, where he held meetings with Gulf investors and officials on trade, energy cooperation, and climate finance.
Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has undertaken at least 46 foreign trips, spending an estimated 192 days abroad as of October 2025. In 2025 alone, he travelled internationally no fewer than 15 times to countries including Ghana, the UAE, Tanzania, France, Italy, Saint Lucia, Japan, and Brazil for summits, bilateral engagements, and holidays.
