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Food for Living: The Hand of God
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There are, without an iota of doubt, certain acts that are beyond human comprehension and articulation. That’s not debatable.
Let’s take a case study of how we sleep. Did you know that whenever you sleep you are practicing how you will die? Yes, because whenever sleep comes, we don’t know where we are or where our spirit goes. At most one might see himself dreaming in wonderland, only to wake up if it’s a nightmare or the creator (God) decides to wake him up through someone.
An uninformed mind might say my body system is accustomed to waking up at a certain hour or I have my alarm clock. I laugh each time I hear certain statements like that because there have been numerous occasions where some of us sleep and our body system fails to wake us up or due to exhaustion, we fail to hear the alarm or even remember we have an alarm.
Let me ask you, haven’t you seen a system where one sets an alarm clock and one still fails to wake up, haven’t you even seen a situation where some sleeps and fails to wake up. There are many case studies on this. The message here is that there are certain acts that’s beyond human comprehension.
I honestly think the highest miracle on earth is how one can sleep and wake up. Some other person might say, it’s the act of procreation, regardless of which aisle belongs to, certain acts can only be described as the hand of God.
Let me make a disclosure here, this article is not spirituality, rather it is targeted towards explaining how unpredictable life can be and as such human beings ought to be humble because nobody knows tomorrow. The reason why I had to begin by explaining how certain acts are beyond human imagination and comprehension is to highlight the limitations of man especially when it comes to things of the spirit.
If spirituality can work that way, human beings can also be limited in their understanding. If you would like to get a good perspective and understanding of how life can be unpredictable. Imagine how President Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America. Who would have believed a Black man with Kenya origin can become the President of the greatest country on earth?
The interesting part was that he was able to beat two white men John McCain and Mitt Rommey consecutively during the 2008 and 2012 presidential election. One may ask, is that the hand of God? I will say yes, because there’s no person who becomes a leader either by hook or by crime, all things being equal without the hand of God on it. What the person does when the person gets the opportunity to serve is up to the person.
It’s instructive to note the highest freedom human beings have is the freedom of choice. On a personal note, I can testify to the hand of God upon my life. My story is truly humbling. Let me first begin by stating that God will show mercy on whom he decides to show mercy. During my formative years in New York City, I joined the Nigerian Lawyers Association, and during the election period, I contested for the post of the Public Relations Officer, as fate may have it I won unopposed.
It’s important to note that I was still in Law School at the said time, so my understanding, articulation and writing wasn’t in good shape.
Because the creator wanted me to serve in that position, he was gracious enough to provide mentors and benefactors who supported me along the journey, and till date I still enjoy the good will. The most interesting part for me was the network I developed during the period, and I still enjoy the goodwill and relationship till date.
In all sincerity, sometimes I do wonder if I had not joined the association and contested for the position of Public Relations Officer, would I have known these benefactors who have been of blessing to me?
Again, I remember when I resigned from my job as a Case Manager to see my grandmother who poured her heart to me by showering me with heartfelt prayers. A little background story to this interesting experience. When I came back to New York, I didn’t have job, I was on the street of New York trying to market my book and as God may have it, I met a news anchor on the street who took interest in my work and as God will have it, he facilitated my interview twice on the television and I became a regular guest on the television.
Here is the interesting part of the story, imagine if I had not resigned from my job to see my late grandmother who was hale and hearty at the said time. Maybe her prayers contributed to my blessings. But the mysterious part was how I was able to leave my house to a random spot and how this young man had to leave his office to do some work on the spot. It can only be the hand of God.
I believe, as human beings we all have our fair share of opportunities and blessings. Some we feel we deserve and some we feel we don’t serve but are favored. If not, how can one explain how some people will be working for people more qualified than them. There might be lots of controversies and opinions on it. How can one explain a series of car accidents and plane crashes and a little child or some people were miraculously saved?
How can one explain a case where a stranger meets a benefactor who changed his life. How can one explain how a mentor can find favor in a mentee and open his doors of access and network for him. There have been cases of people struggling to get grants, jobs, and opportunities for years, but as due to some stroke of luck, someone else got the opportunity.
How can we explain the fact that someone will just see someone and instantly connect and like them. The list is numerous.
Life has truly taught us to be humble because nobody knows tomorrow. Just like death is the greatest humbler in life because both the rich and poor will be buried on the same ground, education can be attributed to the second most humbling experience in life because the child of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated. In America, the child of a nobody can become somebody tomorrow without knowing anyone.
Sometimes some people think that because their father or mother is influential, they can become some influential person tomorrow, they fail to realize tomorrow is not guaranteed. Imagine a man who is the President or Governor today trying to position his child to become the Governor or President tomorrow. The man doesn’t even know how many Governors and President will come after him before his child becomes of age or matured enough to lead. The child might even work for one of his fathers’ staff children when the time works because nobody knows tomorrow.
There have been cases of some people who think they might get a certain position and at the end of the day, someone of less status gets the position. Such is life.
In conclusion, as we journey on the road called life, there is no doubt that there is luck, grace, favor, and the hand of God. No doubt life can be strange and filled with many vicissitudes, but in all, it’s always good for one to do their best and leave the rest for God.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Two members of the Rivers House of Assembly, who are loyalists of former Governor Nyesom Wike, have withdrawn from the impeachment move against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers.
The Minority Leader of the assembly, Sylvanus Enyinna Nwankwo, and Peter Abbey, who represents Degema State Constituency, urged their colleagues to exercise restraint and allow for dialogue to maintain stability in the state
In a video widely circulated on Facebook and an excerpt published by Rivers State Television, the lawmakers urged their colleagues to prioritise the overall interest and stability of Rivers above partisan disagreements.
Call for ‘cooling-off period’
The legislators stressed that the prevailing political climate demands calm, dialogue and a “cooling-off period” within the assembly to allow, in their words, “wisdom and truth to prevail” in the legislative chambers.
Background to impeachment moves
The Rivers assembly parted ways with Mr Fubara because of the feud between the governor and Mr Wike, who is the FCT minister.
The current impeachment notice on Mr Fubara is the third attempt in less than three years to remove the governor. The previous efforts had split the legislature into two factions, causing President Bola Tinubu to declare a six-month state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspend the governor, the deputy governor, and the lawmakers.
The lawmakers accused the governor of constitutional breaches and administrative misconduct, allegations his supporters have dismissed as politically motivated.
Source: Premium Times
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Food is an integral component for living and existence because among other things, it provides energy and nourishment to the physical body. However, it must be consciously selected in other not to run into crisis.
Different kinds of food serve different purposes to the human body depending on the immediate and remote needs. That explains the reason doctors and health practitioners have advised on certain meals to be taken for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And because these serve different purposes, one must therefore, be intentional in selecting the food they eat. It is worthy of note that when one eats a heavy meal at breakfast which is supposedly meant for lunch, there’s the tendency they might not be able to function optimally.
The importance of choosing what goes into the human system as food cannot be overemphasized taking into cognizance that different foods work for different people. This is because they have different taste buds and distinct preferences.
For me, I love having breakfast. As a matter of fact, breakfast for me is the most important meal of the day. If I have have my breakfast, I can practically ‘stay woke’ the whole day.
Again, I love fruits with passion, especially when it’s organic. I can take fruits all day and be fine. This again means, I know what works for me, and so I am intentional in selecting the kind of fruits and food I eat.
Making choices of this nature however, does not relate to food alone. When metaphorically use, food can refer to every facet of living to contributes to growth. An average human being is therefore, expected to choose and dictate the directions of their relationships, professions/business, lifestyle, spiritual life, academic life, health routine, family outlook, and even outfit. It should be noted that anything one does in life, is a function of selection. Every area of our life is centered on choice.
Back to the literal food; while there are different options of food, an individual can decide to stick to a particular one. This is applicable to all other aspects of life. So, before one wears any cloth, it is believed that he must have made the choice out of many options.
As a living being, it’s not all kinds of food that must be eaten, the tantalizing appearance notwithstanding. There are some foods one will eat, and one’s body will react to it. That’s why it’s important for one to determine what works for them. Selecting the food we eat is like selecting the lifestyle we intend to live.
In the journey of life, we must select the kind of lifestyle we would like to live, if we select a bad lifestyle, we’ll have to live with the consequences. There’s no human action without a corresponding consequence. If you do good for someone, it has a way of coming back to you soon directly or indirectly. If you do bad, you will understand the meaning of actions that have consequences.
A case of action with consequences can be likened to the now trending story of a Nigerian Pastor, Chris Okafor, who was alleged to have committed sexual immorality with many ladies while legally married, in addition to living a lifestyle that is unbecoming of a pastor. All his acts were not publicly known until he offended one of his numerous sex partners, one Ms. Doris Ogala.
According to the lady, Okafor promised her marriage, but chose to abandon her after numerous sexual escapades with her. Due to the pain she experienced, she began to expose him on all fronts. The public shame following the ‘pastor’ is the consequence of the action of sinful life he chose.
As an observer on the street, I realized one thing, it’s not all food one is supposed to eat. As a man, sometimes, you are supposed to fast from some food no matter how appetizing it may appear. Sometimes, act like you didn’t see the food just to preserve your sanity, and sometimes, dignity.
Pastor Chris has allegedly tested many foods, unfortunately there was a meal he tasted, and he began to purge. That single meal has exposed and unearthed a lot which was not publicly available and many interested persons, especially ladies, who have been victims have begun to share their personal experiences with pastor Chris, and this has led the security agencies to wade into the allegations against him. Again, this goes to tell you, it’s not every food one must eat.
As a cultural Igbo man from Nigeria, we have an adage that says, nobody knows the womb that will bore a king tomorrow. This adage insinuates that, as human beings, nobody knows where the next opportunity will come from, and in the same manner nobody knows the allegation or challenge that may lead to their downfall. So, it’s important for one to be intentional about how they live their life.
As a man, one must have a certain level of decency, especially if they want to go far. One must also be intentional with their life. Once it’s screwed, it will be hard to fix.
As a career and life coach, there are many opportunities flying all over the space, and it’s normal for one to jump into any industry because it seems to be paying well, or it appears to have lots of growth opportunities. But most people fail to understand that just like there are sands everywhere, opportunities abound everywhere.
When faced with such temptation, what a rational mind must do is to determine whether that opportunity is right for them. It’s always good for one to do what’s best for them, and that entails working on their God given purpose. Failure to do this might make one to work like an elephant and eat like an ant. Even if one is lucky to succeed in that career/business, if they decide to change careers, they might not be happy in addition to having a fulfilling life.
One may have a different attitude to this because they will prefer to cry in a limousine than to cry in a bike or bus, but the truth must be stated, there’s a stage one will get in life and they will realize that if money is the only thing they have, they are poor.
There are many people who married because of money, looks and social status, and today they are either divorced or not happy. Money does not solve all the problems in marriage, neither does looks, faithfulness and sex solve all the problems. What’s important is the shared beliefs in alignment and purpose when two partners are committed to make the relationship work.
In summary, selecting your food is a hypothetical way of informing everyone that we must be intentional with our life. If you see something you like whether it relates to business, education, career, relationship, spirituality or personal, please commit to it regardless of the distractions and detractions that will come in the form of challenges and obstacles. If one can stay strong, they will smile at the end of the day.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Chairman of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, through his legal representative, has filed a formal corruption petition against the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
This was disclosed in a statement made available to our correspondent by the Dangote Group media team on Friday.
Recall that Dangote had earlier petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate Ahmed for allegedly spending $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland. He withdrew the petition a few days ago, even as the ICPC vowed to continue with its investigation.
The statement on Friday said Dangote’s petition to the EFCC followed “The withdrawal of the same petition from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, a strategic decision aimed at accelerating the prosecution process.”
In the petition, signed by Lead Counsel Dr O.J. Onoja, Dangote urged the EFCC to investigate allegations of abuse of office and corrupt enrichment against Ahmed, and to prosecute him if found culpable.
The petition further stated that Dangote would provide evidence to substantiate claims of financial misconduct and impunity.
“We make bold to state that the commission is strategically positioned, along with sister agencies, to prosecute financial crimes and corruption-related offences, and upon establishing a prima facie case, the courts do not hesitate to punish offenders. See Lawan v. F.R.N (2024) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1953) 501 and Shema v. F.R.N. (2018) 9 NWLR (Pt.1624) 337,” the petition read.
Onoja further urged the commission, under the leadership of Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, “To investigate the complaint of abuse of office and corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to accordingly prosecute him if found wanting.”
