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Food for Living: Take Responsibility
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Apart from having the fear of God, one of the greatest desires any individual is a responsible life partner or spouse. In fact, a responsible partner transcends beyond ability to provide as there exists many, who can provide, are still irresponsible. Being responsible is priceless. Being responsible is a currency and goodwill which is not seen among cheap people.
While little girls in high schools are thrilled about the handsomeness of boys, and big ladies in colleges are attracted to the intelligence and financial capacity of guys, mature working ladies are more concerned about the security and loyalty of guys. This set of mature ladies are not concerned about the physical looks and financial capacity of guys. Though money and good looks are important, but they can’t be compared to loyalty and security. This is because a man may not have money, may not look great, and may not even be rich in intelligence, but when a lady sees him as responsible, with prospects, she might take him very seriously, and vice versa.
Asides character, irresponsibility is one thing that detaches a man from a lady. As a matter of fact, when a man senses a lady has been sexually exposed to a lot of men, withdrawal syndrome begins to set in, especially if he’s familiar with such men. Irresponsibility can be attributed to lack of good character or why will a responsible woman be messing around with several men.
One may wonder if this article is about the relationship between a man and a woman. The simple answer is no. The article is about life. I had to begin with human beings to x-ray the importance of living a responsible life. The truth is nobody likes to relate with an irresponsible person whether at work, church, family or events. An irresponsible person will have trust issues, fail in leadership, suffer from accountability issues, and will never be counted as reliable. If negative forces wish to deal with a person, they send an irresponsible people their way, and the individual’s life or work will be completely damaged.
As human beings, we are responsible for our life. It is what we sow that we reap. When we love, we are bound to reap love, when we sow hatred, it has a way of coming back to us. When we sow kindness, kindness will locate us in due time. When we sow hard work, it has a way of paying us back in the near future. When we help the less privileged, we accumulate the grace and mercy of God in the universe. When we invest in people, we tend to open doors, and like a magnet, attracts blessings, favours and opportunities our way.
The question we need to ask ourselves therefore, is what kind of life are we living? According to Socrates, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. Being able to take stock of one’s life is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. Just like a businessman takes inventory of his products, one must be intentional to live a life of purpose. Failure to do so is inviting Karma.
It’s instructive to note that taking responsibility involves a process. It is the foundation one lays that determines the kind of house they live in. For instance, if your tummy aches, what you ate yesterday is the likely the cause; if you are depressed, the culprit is the thought you meditated on the night before; if you are broke, it is usually because you mismanaged your money earlier; if you are overweight, it is because you over-ate in the past. Did you see that actions have consequences and it’s your responsibility to fix yourself with the right thoughts and actions.
The moral of the story is that your reality today is the consequence of your thoughts and actions of yesterday. And your future will reflect your thinking and deeds of today. It’s important to note that no demon is powerful enough to make you reap what you did not sow, neither is any demon more powerful than Karma. If you are in doubt, sow a seed today, and it will show tomorrow.
So, it is important for one to take responsibility for their lives. Nobody will fix you more than you can fix yourself; nobody can help you more than you can help yourself; nobody can save you more than you can save yourself; nobody can inspire you more than you can inspire yourself; and nobody can make you live a responsible life if you are not determined to be responsible.
It’s sad to see people who haven’t taken time to plan their lives, yet expect other people to fix them. Some people don’t invest in themselves by reading, researching, taking a class, course, learning a skill, traveling, investing in their businesses, relationship, network, volunteering in an association, and adding value to their lives. Sometimes, lazy minds lie idle waiting for the Lamb of God, who will take away their sins and burdens. These lazy minds fail to understand that everyone is dealing with a secret frustration.
In conclusion, decide today to take charge of your life, and see how life will unfold positively for you.
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
The Anambra State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, for openly praising Governor Chukwuma Soludo over his strides in infrastructural development.
The party, during a press conference addressed by the State Publicity Secretary Dr Valentine Oliobi, said the words used by the minister undermine the efforts of the party (APC) he is serving, which is also fielding candidates for the governorship contest in November.
Umahi, while on a working visit to Anambra to flag off a federal road, also toured some of Soludo’s projects and concluded that the governor will not have opposition in the coming election because of his marvelous works.
Reacting to Umahi’s commendation, Oliobi described it as mere flattery, meant to placate the governor, insisting that in real sense of governance, Soludo has failed the people of Anambra State.
He said: “Ndi Anambra are not carried away by minister Umahi’s sugar coated words for Soludo. In-between the lines of those so-called praises are nothing but a diplomatic way of expressing disappointment, especially as the governor’s newly constructed roads are already washing away.
“What he saw in Anambra is not impressive but underwhelming. His remarks were not a validation of success, but a subtle reminder that Anambra is not where it should be. It is amusing that Soludo and his cohorts are yet to get to read the handwriting on the wall.”
The party also added that such words by Umahi, even though they were not meant to be true racked of lack of discretion by the minister, who knows that he works for an APC government, and that his party is in the race for a governorship election with the same man he is praising.
“Minister Dave Umahi’s unguided utterances were in support of his business ally, Prof. Soludo. Umahi and Soludo have a joint interest in most of the federal road construction in Anambra.
“But unfortunately for Soludo, the days of empty promises are over as Anambra cannot reinforce failure by renewing unfulfilled contracts through another tenure in office.”
Oliobi listed some of the areas where Soludo has failed, saying the State will vote him out in November. The areas listed include: shoddy road contracts, poor economy, failed security and many others.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has formally notified the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, about the receipt of a petition seeking her recall.
INEC confirmed the development through a statement by the Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Wednesday.
According to the Commission, the petitioners have now provided their contact details, including a mailing address, phone numbers, and email, in compliance with the commission’s guidelines.
This was after the Commission, on Tuesday, said the petitioners seeking Natasha’s recall have not yet met the necessary submission requirements.
The Commission had raised concern that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of its Regulations and Guidelines
But in a statement on Wednesday, Olumekun said the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, dated today Wednesday March, 26, 2025.
“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the Senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address. The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website”, the commission said.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the Constituency. This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission.
“We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent,” INEC added.
The Federal government has declared Monday, March 31, and Tuesday, April 1, public holidays to mark the 2025 Eid-el-Fitr celebration.
The Minister of the Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the announcement on behalf of the Federal government.
He congratulated the Muslim Ummah on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast.
Tunji-Ojo urged all Muslims to embrace the virtues of self-discipline, compassion, generosity and peace, emphasising the importance of love, forgiveness, and solidarity in building a harmonious society.
In a statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Magdalene Ajani, the minister urged Nigerians to use this festive period to pray for the peace, stability, and prosperity of the nation.
