Metro
Food for Living: Take a Deep Breath
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends
One of the best things God has given us is the gift of breath. Imagine we are to buy breath, that would be tragic because many of us won’t be alive. Wealthy people would buy up the breath of poor people and store for generations unborn. It will be safe to say your breath is your life because, without it, you won’t be in existence. In my humble opinion, your breath is the most important part of your being. Just so you understand how important it is, a normal human being can hardly stay alive for more than three minutes without breathing. That’s why athletes are always asked to breathe in and out. This is because their coaches know the effects it has on their bodies. Deep breathing helps you to lower stress in your body because when you breathe deep, it sends a message to your brain to calm down, and ultimately makes you relax. Since the brain is regarded as the compass of the body, it sends messages to the other parts of the body for stability.
Disclosure
Be informed, I’m not a medical practitioner, neither am I a health practitioner of any kind. This article is not centered on health or exercise, but rather on the importance of taking life easy as opposed to being hard on yourself when things don’t add up for you.
It’s always painful to feel bad when you fail an examination, especially after spending countless hours reading and sacrificing other engagements just to prepare for the exam. It is also very painful when you spend hours learning a trade, investing in a business, and building a global brand only for it to crash for reasons you can’t understand. The most painful experience might be a man who has spent a fortune to train a lady in school and empowered her to be financially stable only for her to ditch him for a flimsy excuse at the slightest opportunity. Alternatively, as a lady who loved a man with everything in you, you stood by him and supported him wholeheartedly for him to get his act together, and only for him to ditch you for another guy at the slightest provocation. Such is life. There are many reasons to feel bad and used in this journey called life, but I have good news for you; just be glad it happened because you never can tell what would have happened in the nearest future if it didn’t happen. This is the more reason I always pray to fail fast.
You may be wondering what message I’m trying to send? Just hold on for a minute and you’ll understand. Have you ever wondered why you didn’t get a promotion, why you weren’t hired for a job, denied an opportunity of meeting a high-profile person who can change the course of your destiny, or even feel bad if life is not adding up for you? There may be a thousand and one reasons out there. But I have good news for you, take a deep breath.
Again, you may be wondering why I said, take a deep breath, the answer is not far-fetched. Most times as human beings, we don’t take time to take stock of our life and examine why lines are not adding up as expected. Sometimes, we feel the universe is against us. We think there are “physical & spiritual forces” working against our progress. All these thoughts can make us assume there’s a reason why the lines are not falling in place.
Again, take a deep breath.
According to Socrates, an “unexamined life is not worth living”. One of the worst things you can do as a human being is to assume. I have always admonished my friends, when in doubt do not act. That’s why it’s always good to ask questions for clarity.
Taking a deep breath in life allows you to think out of the box and re-strategize on why things are not adding up. Taking a breath allows you to create boundaries by accessing what’s working and what’s not working and what needs to be done. But the biggest gain in taking a breath is making you understand you have done a good job. Once you have done all you are supposed to do in life or any project and the lines don’t add up, please don’t be hard on yourself. There are many lessons for you to learn. Most times, we don’t look at the inherent lessons life is giving to us either because we are “physically or spiritually blind” or we don’t have a grateful heart.
Let’s take a case of a man/woman who wants to get married but it didn’t work out. It will surely be painful after investing time and resources to the person only for it to crash at the end. You may be wondering what happened, why the person acted in a particular way, why the family rejected you, or even why or how a particular incident happened which led to the separation. The funny thing is that you might be feeling the issue was because of you or maybe it wasn’t properly managed, or probably ego was at stake. There may be many reasons out there but again, I say, take a deep breath. Do you know that it’s better to appreciate what didn’t happen because it would have prevented you from what would have happened? That’s food for thought.
One of the best things that can happen to you in life is taking a breath. Many people underscore the importance of taking a deep breath in life. When you take a deep breath, it helps you appreciate yourself by patting yourself. Remember, nobody can console you more than yourself. Nobody can inspire you more than yourself, especially when your force is internal, and nobody can see, feel and experience what you are seeing, feeling, and experiencing more than you can do.
When you go through a tunnel of challenges, it is important to take a deep breath. When you do, you will realize that the feeling is different. In our contemporary society, we have seen numerous examples of people who are validating their life with social media while some people get depressed thinking they are not doing well for themselves or their life is messed up. My dear friend, please calm down, each and every one of us is battling with a secret frustration. Do you know that your life might be much better than that person you are admiring? Do you know if that person has peace of mind? Do you know if that person’s marriage is in shamble? Do you know if the person has an underlying ailment/disease? Do you know if the children are a bunch of disappointment? There are a litany of reasons out there. That’s why is it’s always good to take a deep breath because it’s not always green on the other side of the grass.
In conclusion, I don’t know what your situation is, but don’t allow your peace of mind to be threatened, don’t allow anyone to rent space in your head. You are doing well for yourself. Everyone is on a journey and our paths are different. It might take you 10 years, 20 years, or even 30 years to get to your destination, but the important thing is that you got to your desired destination. So, while you are on your journey take a deep breath along the way, appreciate those who have gone before you, and support those who are coming behind.
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
Troops of the 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army, have arrested a police officer found operating alongside bandits during a recent operation in Usmanu Village, Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The arrest came amid a swift military response to renewed communal clashes between the Shomo and Wurkun communities.
The disputes had escalated into violent confrontations, resulting in property destruction, including the burning of houses.
During the operation, soldiers engaged armed assailants at the Fadama axis, neutralising four militants and recovering weapons, including three dane guns, a fabricated AK-47 rifle, twenty-five rounds of ammunition, and two motorcycles.
Investigations revealed that the arrested officer had been aiding the militia.
The officer is currently undergoing profiling to determine the extent of his involvement.
Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, Commander of 6 Brigade/Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke, praised troops for their professionalism and swift action.
He reassured residents of Karim Lamido and Taraba State that the Army remains committed to restoring peace and urged communities to report suspicious activities.
The Nigerian Army emphasized that operations under Operation Peace Shield, Operation Lafiya Nakowa, and Operation Zafin Wuta will continue, urging citizens to cooperate fully with security agencies.
For seven remarkable decades, women have stood as pillars of courage, service, and resilience in the Nigeria Police Force. They are breaking boundaries, shaping operational excellence with gallantry, and championing the protection of vulnerable persons across the nation, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report.
This milestone celebration also provides a worthy moment to honour the transformative leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, whose administration has become widely recognized for its unprecedented commitment to gender inclusion and professional empowerment of women in the Force. Under his watch, female officers are not only rising to senior leadership positions but also leading innovations in policing strategy, operations, and public engagement.
Further, the strategic guidance of the Force Gender Advisor, Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG Aishatu Abubakar Baju, has opened new frontiers for Policewomen to contribute their full potential to national security.
To commemorate the 70 Years of Women Policing in Nigeria, the Zone 2 Police Command (comprising Lagos and Ogun States) used the opportunity to emphasize that gender-based violence, child molestation, rape, intimidation, and every form of abuse must have no place in our society. This was marked by a 5km sensitization walk around Onikan down to Falomo in Lagos on Friday, 28th November. Other events will continue till Monday, 1st of December, 2025.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, AIG Adegoke Fayoade speaking shortly after the Policewomen Walk celebrated the women in Police and urged the general public to shun gender based violence. ‘We say no to gender-based violence. We want gender mainstreaming, let all gender be given their proper place in the affairs of the nation. Our Policewomen are very gallant, supportive, professional, and innovative.’
A top female officer and AC X-Squad Zone 2, ACP Edinor Justice said: ‘We are grateful to God for the strength and commitment. We went out to create awareness on gender-based violence. We all know it is a menace not only in Nigeria but worldwide. It is not something that we cannot overcome, that is why we have created awareness to individuals, organizations, and institutions that we should come together to say no to violence, no to rape, and no to GBV. We pray that as we are celebrating the past, we are committing to the present, and inspiring the future.’
Another senior female officer, ACP Amina Yakubu added: ‘I am excited because today, women in Nigeria Police are celebrating 70 years anniversary of women policing in Nigeria. We say no to every form of gender-based violence.’
The Zonal PRO, Zone 2, CSP Ayuba Tunni Umma indicated: ‘We commend the initiator of this program, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun and our mother in person of AIG Force Gender Advisor, AIG Aishatu Abubakar Baju, for this great initiative. This has never been and it’s kind of first time, we want to say a very big thank you, because this has never been in the history of Nigeria Police, and it’s a good thing that we’re celebrating 70 years of women in policing. Just like my fellow colleagues have said, it is not easy being a woman, being a mother, and then pursuing a career in the police job. You know, you have a lot of challenges, but we’re grateful that women are growing, and then we’re soaring above and rising to the peak of our career in this it has not been so in the history but, with the present administration, women have been given the opportunities to play their strategic roles, to exhibit their full potentials in different areas of the police. We want to say a big thank you to IGP Kayode Egbetokun for being gender friendly IGP. We say a very big thank you to AIG Aishatu Baju for being the architect behind this new gender-inclusivity, then to our own father, the AIG in charge of Zone 2 command, AIG Adegoke Fayoade for his support always.’
‘The 5-km walk is more of a sensitization on gender based violence. We want to say women are important. We want to say no to violence against our children, because our children are leaders of tomorrow, We don’t want to begin to groom and raise our children in this kind of manner.’
The Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, has charged Police graduands to uphold the highest standards of discipline, integrity, and service to humanity.
He stated this, according to a statement made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), during the convocation ceremony of Regular Courses 1 to 7 of the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano, where he was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Dr. Anuma Ogbonnaya Nlia.
The Minister said the Academy remains a critical institution in Nigeria’s security architecture, producing officers equipped with world-class knowledge, ethical grounding, and operational competence.
“The badge they wear is not merely a symbol of authority; it is a reminder of the trust the Nigerian people place in them. Let your conduct reflect the values of transparency, accountability, respect for human rights, and strict adherence to the rule of law,” Gaidam stressed.
He added, “Today is not only a celebration of academic achievement but a reaffirmation of our commitment to building a modern, highly skilled, and professional Police Force capable of meeting the evolving security needs of our nation.”
The Minister pointed out that the graduands are joining the Force at a time when the nation faces complex security challenges, including insurgency, banditry, cybercrime, kidnapping, and violent extremism. “The responsibility is enormous, but the training has prepared them to confront these challenges with professionalism, courage, and sound judgment,” he said.
Gaidam expressed the Ministry’s commitment to the ongoing reform, modernization, and repositioning of the Nigeria Police Force, citing policy reforms, strategic capacity-building initiatives, improved welfare packages, enhanced training infrastructure, and technology-driven policing as key areas of focus.
He congratulated the graduands, their families, and all who have supported them on this journey, commending the Commandant, Academy Management, faculty members, instructors, and support staff for their dedication to grooming the next generation of police leaders.
